The Zodar is one of the most DM specific "Shit hit the fan" buttons ever, or "You're going to get emotional right now" buttons. There is just so much a DM can do with them. It can really be one of the greatest DM NPC's ever. There is soooo much going on there, it's really one of the greatest and most perfect stat blocks ever created. Imagine a party befriends one, and after a long arc with the Zodar, not only explaining it's story (probably through written messages), but everyone is attached to thing and cares about as much they would a child. But during a dire circumstance a PC dies. You suddenly hear the Zodar speak "I wish Bob the Reliant was brought back to life." Giving it's life to bring someone back to life could be a gut punch to your players. Or some other die circumstance the PCs have created. There is only one chance things work right for the PCs and their friend, campaign, just suddenly spouts a wish to make it work as they just turn into a cloud of motes. Or you have the opposite. It's a servant of the BBEG, which the players have gone against a couple of times. Things start to go down, a fight ensues. The party suddenly hears the Zodar speak a threat. They ignore it, the fight continues on, the Zodar gets a way. It comes back a couple of times. In the final encounter it's on a few hit points. Suddenly it points at a PC. Everyone hears "I wish they never existed." And you now have a player ripped out of existence as the Zodar is turned into dust. Whatever way you go with them, it's going to be memorable and just mess with the players. It's not just a sat block, but a DM tool. And this really is what we need going forward.
I find Megapede's Life Drain strange as well. Not because it doesn't heal from it, but because "Life Drain" is usually a skill some undeads have. It doesn't always heal them but it usually has a secondary effect such as reducing maximum health among other things.
I’m somewhat sad that they removed the interaction with lycanthropes that Lunar Dragons used to have. If I recall, the dragon went through phase changes, and were their most powerful during their Full Moon phase. But while in that phase, their presence forced lycanthropes to assume their hybrid or beast forms as if being exposed to an actual full moon; it also charmed or enthralled them to the dragon.
I’m still peeved that the Giff Warlord’s Morningstar damage is messed up, as it should have a +6 damage thanks to a higher strength. As seen at 28:47 with a +6 to strength, yet it has a +5 flat bonus on it’s Morningstar. I know it’s nothing huge, but it will continue bothering me until hopefully patched.
I really really like the Zodar, I am currently playing a Circle of Stars Druid and I am super excited to get Shapechange so I can turn into a Zodar, since it will be able to use my magic items and I can have my starry form active with it, I'm even taking Metamagic Adept so I can use extended spell to let me stay as a Zodar for 2 hours
Far as I'm aware of, even 2nd edition versions of Zodar had VERY little information about them, which I think was design intent for DMs touse them for whatever they feel like what they want.
I kinda wish that they would make a version in the form of real world encyclopedia volume series. Include all published 5th edition species creatures and their variants sub types. As for art work, skip colors go with old school hand drawings. Under the names or by them, include all variant scientific names of the creatures. Great pdf or physical copy to have.
I cannot overstate how much I’m down for Space Clowns and Vampirates. Gonna be injecting that Worthikids ‘Wire’ music video lore into my games. The conflict between ‘Genuine Clowns’ and the undead has reached the Stars!
As soon as Perkins said the Dohwar were ferengi-jawa hybrids in the form of penguins (her favorite animal) my wife demanded stats for PCs. I deflected with custom lineage until I read the entry in depth then came up with: Creature Type: You are a Fey Size: You are Small Speed: Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed. Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to one hour. Skilled Merchant: Due to your fey connection to negotiation and contracts, you gain proficiency in one of the following skills: Deception, Insight, or Persuasion. Telepathic Merging: You can initiate telepathic contact with up to two creatures within 30 feet of you. You can send and receive telepathic communication, and language is not a barrier to this communication. Psionic Potential: You know the encode thoughts cantrip. Additionally, starting at 3rd level, you can cast the detect thoughts spell with this trait. Once you cast this spell, you cannot cast it with this trait again until you have finished a long rest. You can also cast it with any spell slots of 2nd level or higher. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spell-casting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this ancestry).
The miniature giant space hamsters being monstrosity seems to be a deliberate restriction to phb rangers and druids. The value of a boo +ranger makes the phb restriction worth it.
I'll say as someone who's currently DMing through the consequences of not realising this: I'm very glad they've explicitly stated that extra weapon damage from a creature is a quality of the creature, not the weapon. It very much matters when you have party members looking at a weapon that JUST dealt them a load of poison damage and deciding they could use that.
Now I have this mental image of a Zodar NPC who sort of befriends the party over the campaign, then during a dire time, uses its last "voice use" to thank the party then sacrificing itself for their cause by casting wish for them. But whos cutting onions here?!
44:10 Oddly (not really) This typo appears in MotM (pg 191). It was a complete copy & paste, minus art. Edit: It also appears in the original Volo's entry (pg 180), which in itself was edited for future releases, to remove the fact they are slavers. Bravo WotC. You have the same typo across 3 books, which was edited after the first book.
I also like more beasts as I play a druid. but this list reminds me of Scott Lang when he says, "do you keep putting quantum in front of everything" when I see space this and space that.
Also Ted, something of interest that may (or may not) be worth a video, is how DnDBeyond are currently going through and "WotC'ing" all the Homebrew content on the site (that has been shared previously).
@@NerdImmersion I've had a couple of Homebrew items that were shared a while ago (like over a year) suddenly bounced back and "rejected" due to various reasons (some of the actual response comments are quite smarmy and childish IMO, poor choice of language used). Some examples being anything that has a name that starts with "A ..." or "An ..." (I had a homebrew warhammer called "An Honest Tool" that was rejected only for the name). Also what they call "mundane" artefacts such as in-game/in-campaign Lore books (which is fair, but i shared way back cos you never know what others may want or may inspire them). It's not a big thing, but changes nonetheless. I suspect they are trying to clean up everything in line with an "SRD-like-mentality" maybe? Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond. :)
I'm about to run the light of Xaryxisis adventure and I am very excited for a shorter, more linear game. And just excited for space adventures anyways!
One thing I don't like is that they decided to make Vampirates NOT suck blood. I feel like it takes away the whole point of merging the two. Vampires and Pirates are both characterized as "bloodthirsty"; I feel like the point would be to combine the Vampire's LITERAL bloodthirstiness with the Pirate's FIGURATIVE bloodthirstiness. This would also play into the darker side of both subcultures, through their association with "the damned". I just feel like it should lean more towards horror.
Probably a long shot but ill ask anyway Whay would be a good "side kick" race for the giff? like how orcs have goblins, Im planning to have my party go up against a pirate crew of giff, but i need more cannon foder/putty patrol like enemys to make things more interesting Thanks in advance 😊
The Lunar Dragon not having Lair Actions is really stupid and I hate it. The Solar dragon makes sense because its lair is a star but it would be cool if they had like a beam they can shoot out at crazy long distances if they bunker down in their star.
I hate that the esthetic is tied to a reigar, it would be so cool to wander across a dying esthetic who lost its creator and try to save it by taming it. In fact I hate just about everything about the reigar because not only is everything exclusive to their race, but it goes so far as to be exclusive to the individual that created whatever it is that’s tied to them, so there’s no room for creativity. Like imagine doing a mission for an ally reigar to steal an enemy’s esthetic or a player true polymorphing into a reigar to steal a talarith.
Pick up a copy of Spelljammer Adventures in Space for yourself: amzn.to/3PpkC1d
1:49 Astral Variants
5:03 Aartuks
7:24 Astral Elves
11:06 Autognome (Only one?)
12:22 Braxat
14:03 B'rohg
15:21 Chwinga
17:29 Cosmic Horror
18:44 Dohwar
19:22 Esthetic
21:30 Eye Monger
23:06 Feyr
24:43 Gaj
26:10 Giff
27:35 Adam Appears!
28:50 Githyanki
31:09 Hadozees
32:07 Jammer Leech
33:47 Kindori
34:32 Lunar Dragon
37:58 Megapede
39:06 Mercane
40:00 Murder Comet
41:34 Neh-thalggu
43:55 Neogi
46:25 Plasmoids
47:39 Psurlons
50:23 Reigar
52:20 Scavvers
53:45 Solar Dragons
55:34 Space Clown
57:44 Space Eel
58:37 Space Guppy
59:08 Space Hamster
59:08 Space Hamster
59:50 Space Mollymawk
1:00:14 Space Swine
1:00:47 Ssurran
1:02:19 Starlight Apparition
1:04:07 Thri-Kreen
1:07:04 Vampirates
1:10:19 Zodar
Not so bad now that it's 23 to 30 dollars cheaper, huh?
1:49 Astral Variants
5:03 Aartuks
7:24 Astral Elves
11:06 Autognome (Only one?)
12:22 Braxat
14:03 B'rohg
15:21 Chwinga
17:29 Cosmic Horror
18:44 Dohwar
19:22 Esthetic
21:30 Eye Monger
23:06 Feyr
24:43 Gaj
26:10 Giff
27:35 Adam Appears!
28:50 Githyanki
31:09 Hadozees
32:07 Jammer Leech
33:47 Kindori
34:32 Lunar Dragon
37:58 Megapede
39:06 Mercane
40:00 Murder Comet
41:34 Neh-thalggu
43:55 Neogi
46:25 Plasmoids
47:39 Psurlons
50:23 Reigar
52:20 Scavvers
53:45 Solar Dragons
55:34 Space Clown
57:44 Space Eel
58:37 Space Guppy
59:08 Space Hamster
59:50 Space Mollymawk
1:00:14 Space Swine
1:00:47 Ssurran
1:02:19 Starlight Apparition
1:04:07 Thri-Kreen
1:07:04 Vampirates
1:10:19 Zodar
I kind of wish the Kindori and Scavvers were beasts, it would be really cool for a high level druid to turn into them
I appreciate your work friend :)
@@azurearrow5087 No problem 👍
Out here doing the lords work, thank you!
The Zodar is one of the most DM specific "Shit hit the fan" buttons ever, or "You're going to get emotional right now" buttons. There is just so much a DM can do with them. It can really be one of the greatest DM NPC's ever. There is soooo much going on there, it's really one of the greatest and most perfect stat blocks ever created.
Imagine a party befriends one, and after a long arc with the Zodar, not only explaining it's story (probably through written messages), but everyone is attached to thing and cares about as much they would a child. But during a dire circumstance a PC dies. You suddenly hear the Zodar speak "I wish Bob the Reliant was brought back to life." Giving it's life to bring someone back to life could be a gut punch to your players. Or some other die circumstance the PCs have created. There is only one chance things work right for the PCs and their friend, campaign, just suddenly spouts a wish to make it work as they just turn into a cloud of motes.
Or you have the opposite. It's a servant of the BBEG, which the players have gone against a couple of times. Things start to go down, a fight ensues. The party suddenly hears the Zodar speak a threat. They ignore it, the fight continues on, the Zodar gets a way. It comes back a couple of times. In the final encounter it's on a few hit points. Suddenly it points at a PC. Everyone hears "I wish they never existed." And you now have a player ripped out of existence as the Zodar is turned into dust.
Whatever way you go with them, it's going to be memorable and just mess with the players. It's not just a sat block, but a DM tool. And this really is what we need going forward.
I find Megapede's Life Drain strange as well. Not because it doesn't heal from it, but because "Life Drain" is usually a skill some undeads have. It doesn't always heal them but it usually has a secondary effect such as reducing maximum health among other things.
I’m somewhat sad that they removed the interaction with lycanthropes that Lunar Dragons used to have. If I recall, the dragon went through phase changes, and were their most powerful during their Full Moon phase. But while in that phase, their presence forced lycanthropes to assume their hybrid or beast forms as if being exposed to an actual full moon; it also charmed or enthralled them to the dragon.
I’m still peeved that the Giff Warlord’s Morningstar damage is messed up, as it should have a +6 damage thanks to a higher strength. As seen at 28:47 with a +6 to strength, yet it has a +5 flat bonus on it’s Morningstar.
I know it’s nothing huge, but it will continue bothering me until hopefully patched.
It's +10 to-hit is correct, but yeah its +5 damage should be +6.
@@hunterkoons2008 ah, sorry. My mistake, thanks for the clarification!
I really really like the Zodar, I am currently playing a Circle of Stars Druid and I am super excited to get Shapechange so I can turn into a Zodar, since it will be able to use my magic items and I can have my starry form active with it, I'm even taking Metamagic Adept so I can use extended spell to let me stay as a Zodar for 2 hours
If you ask me, Spelljammer just plain opened up a whole new world of appeal to play a Circle of Stars Druid.
Can you please do a your thoughts on the updated stuff in the spell jammer errata?
Far as I'm aware of, even 2nd edition versions of Zodar had VERY little information about them, which I think was design intent for DMs touse them for whatever they feel like what they want.
I kinda wish that they would make a version in the form of real world encyclopedia volume series. Include all published 5th edition species creatures and their variants sub types. As for art work, skip colors go with old school hand drawings. Under the names or by them, include all variant scientific names of the creatures. Great pdf or physical copy to have.
I cannot overstate how much I’m down for Space Clowns and Vampirates. Gonna be injecting that Worthikids ‘Wire’ music video lore into my games.
The conflict between ‘Genuine Clowns’ and the undead has reached the Stars!
I believe you can have more than 1 helm on a ship, you just can't have them both active at a time.
Yeah doesn't one have to be attuned to the ship, so then it would be the only functioning helm on a spelljammer ship?
As soon as Perkins said the Dohwar were ferengi-jawa hybrids in the form of penguins (her favorite animal) my wife demanded stats for PCs. I deflected with custom lineage until I read the entry in depth then came up with:
Creature Type: You are a Fey
Size: You are Small
Speed: Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to one hour.
Skilled Merchant: Due to your fey connection to negotiation and contracts, you gain proficiency in one of the following skills: Deception, Insight, or Persuasion.
Telepathic Merging: You can initiate telepathic contact with up to two creatures within 30 feet of you. You can send and receive telepathic communication, and language is not a barrier to this communication.
Psionic Potential: You know the encode thoughts cantrip. Additionally, starting at 3rd level, you can cast the detect thoughts spell with this trait. Once you cast this spell, you cannot cast it with this trait again until you have finished a long rest. You can also cast it with any spell slots of 2nd level or higher.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spell-casting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this ancestry).
The Boo's Astral Menagerie is my favorite out of the three books. Definitely going to use some of the monsters in my future games.
I'm kinda thinking the Zodar is going to be like a Destroyer Armour (from Thor) for my Twilight Cleric player when they get to higher levels...
The miniature giant space hamsters being monstrosity seems to be a deliberate restriction to phb rangers and druids. The value of a boo +ranger makes the phb restriction worth it.
I'll say as someone who's currently DMing through the consequences of not realising this: I'm very glad they've explicitly stated that extra weapon damage from a creature is a quality of the creature, not the weapon. It very much matters when you have party members looking at a weapon that JUST dealt them a load of poison damage and deciding they could use that.
Can you cover the errata? I'd like to know your opinion
Tbh i think the monster section is the best part of 5e SJ. Its probably the only part id buy.
The NPC stat blocks section of the DMG has templates for various humanoids, as well as zombies and skeletons
That strung bow in the back had me flinching the whole time. Great video tho
It's not strung, it's a recurve, so if it was the limbs would be bent the other way and be under tension. The string is just resting on it
Now I have this mental image of a Zodar NPC who sort of befriends the party over the campaign, then during a dire time, uses its last "voice use" to thank the party then sacrificing itself for their cause by casting wish for them.
But whos cutting onions here?!
Never heard of a Zodar. Instantly curious after seeing the details. Has anyone used one of these?
Fizbands monsters man, please.
the tiny hamsters is not the tradition one. it's technically a miniature giant space hamster. the giant ones are the normal size.
I kinda want to reskin the psurlon leader as CatDog while keeping the same abilities...
44:10 Oddly (not really) This typo appears in MotM (pg 191). It was a complete copy & paste, minus art.
Edit: It also appears in the original Volo's entry (pg 180), which in itself was edited for future releases, to remove the fact they are slavers. Bravo WotC. You have the same typo across 3 books, which was edited after the first book.
I also like more beasts as I play a druid. but this list reminds me of Scott Lang when he says, "do you keep putting quantum in front of everything" when I see space this and space that.
The space clown ship alarm is the ringing of a Clarabell and a bike horn is the distress signal.
Also Ted, something of interest that may (or may not) be worth a video, is how DnDBeyond are currently going through and "WotC'ing" all the Homebrew content on the site (that has been shared previously).
If you can give me a little more context, I'll definitely look into it!
@@NerdImmersion I've had a couple of Homebrew items that were shared a while ago (like over a year) suddenly bounced back and "rejected" due to various reasons (some of the actual response comments are quite smarmy and childish IMO, poor choice of language used). Some examples being anything that has a name that starts with "A ..." or "An ..." (I had a homebrew warhammer called "An Honest Tool" that was rejected only for the name). Also what they call "mundane" artefacts such as in-game/in-campaign Lore books (which is fair, but i shared way back cos you never know what others may want or may inspire them). It's not a big thing, but changes nonetheless. I suspect they are trying to clean up everything in line with an "SRD-like-mentality" maybe? Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond. :)
My disappointment at the lack of a playable dohwar race is immeasurable
I'm about to run the light of Xaryxisis adventure and I am very excited for a shorter, more linear game. And just excited for space adventures anyways!
Don't mess with the Zodar.
ALGORITHM LETS GOOOOO
OK so I’m not the only one who remembers killer clowns from outer space
The CR of these monsters is fucking crazy, all over the place
One thing I don't like is that they decided to make Vampirates NOT suck blood. I feel like it takes away the whole point of merging the two. Vampires and Pirates are both characterized as "bloodthirsty"; I feel like the point would be to combine the Vampire's LITERAL bloodthirstiness with the Pirate's FIGURATIVE bloodthirstiness. This would also play into the darker side of both subcultures, through their association with "the damned". I just feel like it should lean more towards horror.
the murder comet name is just because they needed to insert something in the M section for book formatting purposes
You should absolutely have a Silent Bob Zodar as an NPC that is constantly with another loudmouth NPC.
Woo
Probably a long shot but ill ask anyway
Whay would be a good "side kick" race for the giff?
like how orcs have goblins,
Im planning to have my party go up against a pirate crew of giff, but i need more cannon foder/putty patrol like enemys to make things more interesting
Thanks in advance 😊
The Lunar Dragon not having Lair Actions is really stupid and I hate it. The Solar dragon makes sense because its lair is a star but it would be cool if they had like a beam they can shoot out at crazy long distances if they bunker down in their star.
Its a shame the Space Swine isn't Large so we can ride it as a mount.
i love these
I hate that the esthetic is tied to a reigar, it would be so cool to wander across a dying esthetic who lost its creator and try to save it by taming it. In fact I hate just about everything about the reigar because not only is everything exclusive to their race, but it goes so far as to be exclusive to the individual that created whatever it is that’s tied to them, so there’s no room for creativity. Like imagine doing a mission for an ally reigar to steal an enemy’s esthetic or a player true polymorphing into a reigar to steal a talarith.
Adam!
I see a beagle I upvote
The Aartuk war against beholders probably isn’t doing great considering their strongest form, elder, is only CR 3
Perhaps, but beholders are usually solitary (although they often have minions).
Was the spelljammer bestiary just a low effort version of the Lords of Madness from past editions?