DnD steals from all over. Vampires, zombies, dragons have various forms and personalities all over the world. Fairies, dryads, nymphs, firbolg, draw from the fae-folk from all over. If there is something from your own culture, or another that you think is interesting, put it in!
Pre made lore ? D&D will adapt it. And to be honest it kinda cool to have ethnic known. Lore and great to learn new lore from around the globe. … Krampus St Nicholas,St Vitus plague. Etc. Adds something
I love the idea of having a Baba Yaga as a patron for a warlock who is chaotic good. And she is like the lovely grandma BUT. If the adventurer was to bring his party with him to see grandma and they weren’t “good” then she would be asking “oh my darling, you shouldn’t be around people like this. I told you to be careful. Now I shall eat them so you don’t have to worry.” Which the warlock would “hopefully” try and convince her not to. But she would still be very cold and evil to anyone who wasn’t “good”. I like the idea of her giving tea to people and it is the best they have ever had but to the neutral or evil PC’s it would be pee or 50 years gone off milk or just poison that looks like tea
That naked sorcerer: That would be Koschei the Deathless. An intriguing charecter in his own right. If you want to remain faithful to myth, make him a lich. He really had the first phylactery, hiding his heart away in an egg in a chicken in a fox in a tree on an island in the middle of nowhere.
Im running a game soon w/both a lich and a fairy king as player characters. The lich is going to be trying to recollect the liches of the world under his thumb. Totally having the two players linked by The Naked Sorcerer! Thank you for the extra detail!
Excellent video. Definitely captures the sheer creepiness of the Slavic legend. Definitely like the shoutout to Koschie the Deathless. For further reading, Pathfinder expanded on Baba Yaga's story quite a bit. Heck, the whole Reign of Winter campaign revolves around her and her influence on the world of Golarion and others, which may be rather familiar to some of us. There was also an issue of Dragon and a one-shot high level adventure that tie her to Iggwilv and the demon lord Kostchtchie. She's definitely an epic mover and shaker across the planes.
To get the feel of Baba Yaga, one must read Russian and other Slavic fairy tales, of course. In some, Baba Yaga is an obvious villain. In others, she helps the hero with advice and magic items against a more dangerous foe, while remaining morally ambiguous. While it is not quite D&D anymore, Baba Yaga plays a somewhat important in Pathfinder's default setting of Golarion: she conquered the eastern part of Scandinavia-inspired Land of Linnorm Kings in less than a month, cursed it with eternal winter, placed one of her daughters upon the throne, and left, forming the second Russia-inspired nation of the setting, Irrisen. She does not rule much over the place - she comes every century, takes her daughter and her descendants, places another, and leaves. In Irrisen, frost wolves, ice trolls, and evil fey walk on the streets, while locals are subject to whims of cruel nobility who wait with fear for nearing end of the cycle. When I used Baba Yaga in my previous campaign, I made a couple of references to the place. And, oh, it is properly pronounced "ya-GAH". Sorry!
So boom... I got another story set up. Noble family having a power struggle. The next heir to become the head of the family is a young boy. However, the jealous uncle isnt having it. He has his lackeys kidnap him and bring him to the frozen wilds where Baba Yaga is said to frequent. The poor boy of course eventually finds Baba Yaga who ends up testing him soon after his capture. He succeeds in passing the test displaying quick wit and courage. Baba Yaga approved and agreed to help the boy take revenge and reclaim his birthright. She gives him a powerful ring capable of boosting ones magical power. You see Baba yaga sensed the boy was a wild mage sorcerer and couldnt resist the idea of the chaos he could possibly bring upon his enemies. Baba Yaga decided train him for a number of years. Teaching him that nature of weird magic. She also had him carry out varies different task. These ranged from mundane errands to dangerous adventures that required his quick wit as well as magical power. When he was finally old enough he left her care and returned to wreck havoc on those who wronged him. His birthright would be his at all cost all while Baba Yaga gleefully watched from the distance. Waiting see to see how this bloody tale would unfold.
this reminds me of a campaign i was running with ascetic monk and i had the boba yaga try to talk them into coming to their hut . one of the hags touched him and triggered his tough of golden ice ability and continued to pummel the poor hag to death lo.
When you look at the raw numbers, you tend to think, "Ah, ok. This is totally doable. We can definately defeat that hut... how bad can the crone be...?" One never really takes into account the role play aspect of the encounter, like remembering the hag's got allies, prep time, obscure magic, and me having no idea and charging in and being forced to retreat before making it thru the front door ;_;
And that's a regular hag. Expecting a Baba Yaga encounter to go like a regular hag encounter is like expecting Hercules, Thor, or Steve Rogers to be "just another fighter..."
My kids wanted to start gaming. I've started them out near the beginning of Torils history. One of the characters is a Druid I would like to see become Mother Nature, we have a Raw Mage named Mystryl who is slated to become the Goddess of Magic Mystra, and we have a Dwarf named Yaga who is a Rogue Artificer, she makes magic items. One day she will be known as Baba Yaga, or as the humans say, Mother Yaga, as Baba is Dwarven for mother. I thought it would be a great way to teach them Faerun history while giving us a significant role to play in the Realms.
Even if I never intend to use Baba Yaga in a campaign, it's cool to hear the lore. It gets me thinking about how Baba Yaga could have influenced the mythology of witches with the riding on brooms and having a coven of 3. And then I draw parallels to media, in The Ritual, 3 friends find a cabin in the woods that seemingly judges who's innocent and who's not. Though I'm not really sure, that was an odd movie. Also there's The Sword with songs like The Mother, The Maiden, The Crone, and Tres Brujas.
Dragon magazine #83 had a really cool adventure / setting using Baba Yaga - 'The Dancing Hut'. Her hut was like a TARDIS, and had all sorts of cool stuff inside. Worth checking out - www.annarchive.com/files/Drmg083.pdf
This was so very helpful deciding on how to make her a patron for one of my characters in an upcoming campaign, thank you so much for all the great information.
She's the maiden, mother, and crone.... Interesting... There's a lot of good story hooks with this old bat.... If you've ever read the Dresden Files, she reminds me heavily of the Queens of Faery... Summer and Winter Courts, three queens each. The Lady, The Queen, and the Mother. Mother Winter is described as an old hag with a hooded cloak. She has several pairs of dentures, one of which has iron teeth. She lives in a cottage at the very heart of Faery with her summer counterpart, Mother Summer, who is her diametric opposite. An able bodied, matronly old woman. Mab and Titania are the Queens, and at the beginning, Maev and Aurora are the Ladies of winter and summer respectively for both. In one book, Harry (foolishly) attempts to summon Mother Winter to the mortal realm, and one of the names he calls her is Baba Yaga... He also names her Skuld and Atropo. She's amused and pissed that he attempted to summon her during the summer season. It's a tense interview.
It is truly amazing how quickly you produce this great content. I subscribed a few days ago and I already spent waaaaaaaay too much time on this channel :D
You know AJ. You could do an entire separate video on the hut and her magic items! 😃 on another note,I was wondering if you might consider doing another vampire video but this one would be the dreaded Penaggalen I first spotted in the 1981 Fiend Folio,a really twisted version of the classic vampire! And even more compelling is the fact its...well,just sick as fuck!
I love baba yaga.. I know what it feels like to go in and listen to something that dont talk then you go out and everybody left.. I can familiarize with that
Wow! More Feywild stuff! My favourite area in dnd and literally the least explored area in 5E. I remember asking for videos on the feywild about 9 months ago 😊 so happy to get some now
As someone who has witnessed a party member make a deal with Baba Yaga I can say they you’d only want that if you like pain. Party member died and she used dark magic to drag her screaming from the afterlife and then Geased her so she could never leave her service. If you’ve read the dresden files she was like an even more vindictive and cruel Mab
Just an Average Dragon she was actually a public figure too and it was soooo irritating not being able to do anything to her for so long. I low key built my sorcerer as a mage slayer to I could duel her at someone point😂
Wow, I loved the short narrative at the beginning. It really gives substance to the creature. It adds to the facts that you lay down for the community. I wish you did more narratives like that!!!
As one running a campaign with Hags as the focal point, I LOVE this. I cannot say openly what my plans are (players might read this), but your input is helpful and inspiring.
Great story/storytelling and also great art( as always ).I have never heard this fable before so it was most interesting to listen to. Thank you for all the hard work you put into your channel, I enjoy it very much.
Hey AJ. I am running curse of strahd adventure. I have looked through the book. I will use the lore of Baba Yaga to better enhance the encounter with Baba Lysaga. Thank you for this timely upload.
As a former player from back in the day, I was THRILLED to come across your channel! All my audio listening has been put on hold until I get thru all your videos. Your research and attention to detail has reinforced all the fond memories of my d&d days! Thank you so much and keep up the excellent work!
Yeah man,that's what I'm talking about Baba Yaga and her Hut on fowls legs. Ask and Ye shall receive eh? Lol thanks "KiwiMan" It pleases me to no end you took my suggestion and made a video on her! Ive watched it multiple times as have my players!
I'm convinced Baba Yaga started out as a pagan deity of immense notoriety. She may have been originally from before written history (thousands of years ago).
In my campaign, when travelling over land, you roll a d100 to check for an encounter. A roll of 96-98 is a Weird Encounter; roll a 20 on that d20 table and you encounter Baba Yaga. Probably one of the potentially worst encounters on that table, maybe just a shock if she passes you by, or maybe, just maybe, an opportunity to get a powerful service from her... For a price.
I dont know if anyone else has said it and I know its an old video but because its a Russian name the pronunciation is 'yah-GAH', the emphasis is on the -ga. That being said, that's the Earth pronunciation and it could be entirely different on Faerun.
So with Baba Yaga actually being 3 characters in one as you described, is she a perversion of the Fates (or Norns as they're known in Norse mythology)?
Here's another weird old thing Baba Yaga does: She often took things away by having hands come out of the floor and take them. Not people though. Literally just grain. Edit: And she'll also probably kill you if you decide to ask about it.
So I wonder if Baba Lysaga is copycat or something, she has many aspects, but was a human, and I guess technically in the Shadowfell. Got a love for the weirdness of hags. Was just in the middle of writing up the economics of the feywild, especially on hags, which I know are supposed to be part of neither the Seelie or Unseelie Court. Was finding a lot of conflicting information on the courts, especially for 5e, older ones said the Unseelie were evil and ugly, but newer info said it is specifically not, and just two different ideologies. Had to be creative more, but I was characterizing both courts as caring about beauty, with the Summer Court seeing happiness as the defining nature of beauty, friendly where they have large and boisterous parties that could be too much for a human, and a threat if the mood is ruined at the party. The Gloaming Court holds hunts against intruders and as social events, yet welcoming if encountered right, they see beauty in sadness, in tragedy that one mourns but is also motivated by it. No real source for exact differences, other than possibly the seasonal differences of Eladrin, to explain how they both care about beauty and are opposed without technically being good or evil. Wondering now if I should include Baba Yaga as a third faction, characteristic of the twisted and unpredictable nature of hags, with denizens of ugly fey, yet only helpful to humanoids with pure intentions as a reflection of their will. But I need to think of something she wants. Unless coming across and helping a pure intentioned being is payment, as it benefits her.
Kostchtchie is actual one of my favorite demon lords. I have to say Baba Yaga scares me more than just about anyone. All things considered could Baba Yaga take any of the known demon lords?
While I imagine her at least as powerful as a demon lord I do not see her a direct combatant. No, she would definitely use indirect means to get what she wants. Thus while I can see demon lords wary of her they would also avail themselves of her services...when she is willing to offer.
Archfey are at least demigod level. So yes, I would say she is a kind of Archfey. What exactly she holds dominion over besides her chicken leg hut...that is perhaps the scariest question of all.
One more: Couldn't resist. Mystery Science Theater 3000- Jack Frost. If you like laughing at terrible movies there's none better and Baba Yaga makes a suitably awkward and terrible appearance. Start watching at 50:58 for the Baba Yaga entrance. Enjoy. ruclips.net/video/CVpOaeBtr7w/видео.html
I have this backstory for an abyssal tiefling paladin involving a run-in with Baba Yaga. After being run out of her village as a child, she comes across Baba Yaga's hut, and ends up meeting the hag herself. After hearing some of her story, Baba Yaga sets a task upon her: she is to clean the legs of her hut by the time the hag returns from some unknown business. And if it's not spotless, Baba Yaga will then eat her. The legs, of course, are covered in all sorts of vile muck and rot. And when the young tiefling tries to get to work, all of the hag's cleaning supplies grow legs and run away from her. But somehow, the tiefling does manage to secure a way of cleaning it, and Baba Yaga gives her a nice warm breakfast the next morning and sends her on her way. Anyone care to venture a guess of how our heroine pulled it off? My only hint is that it is definitely something a hag would absolutely get a kick out of seeing a mortal do.
@@williethenerfherder2193 Nope. Any other guesses? I'll give you one hint - what she had to do was so gross that only the most desperate person would even consider it.
Here's an idea more of a question wouldn't it be possible for an extremely powerful individual may be a child who has sorcerer abilities or psionic powers to dream so powerfully that there mind or Spirit or whatever whines up in the feywild kind of like astral projection
I notice the similarity with the creature in the movie Babadook, both in name and somewhat in physical form. Anyone know if Babadook comes from Slavic folklore as well, or if the Director is Slavic?
Could perhaps be interesting to have her immense divination powers originate from actually spiritually time traveling, thus sending her to witness events in the past, present or future, but the further she travels the more she pays in years as her spirit experiences the time while her body remains in place only to age when the spirit return. Thus she either wants youth or you could have her trade with the party (it's the route I'd go) for years of their life. I'd consider representing this as the character suffering some exhaustion in the short term, but note down the number of years traded as a thing for later. It also somewhat limits what she can see, as looking too far back or forward would leave her an immobile husk (though, I'd say, still alive thanks to her fey nature). With enough years traded she could even become "naturally" young and beautiful, which could serve some nefarious goal where a non-magical disguise is of use to her (as opposed to simply using magic to temporarily alter her form). Perhaps she needs a youthful form to bear children? In that chase what is she planning to do with said child, given how powerful some of her other children have turned out to be? Will it be a powerful servant? Independent agent? The rightful heir to a kingdom? Perhaps even a kingdom that has yet to rise, for she has seen the future, the fall of this dynasty and the rise of the next, and the generation after will now serve her so she can achieve whatever nefarious plan she has in mind. Perhaps she saw the coming of Orcus, so she will place her pawns in anticipation to meet the threat and gain the most from the coming darkness. Thus she has already begun to push her pawns into place to come out on top. For she plays a long game, beyond the sight of mere mortals. Thus the child she spared has a role to play as well.
I like to think that Baba yaga is not actually a hag, but an avatar of the Hag's patron diety if not a actual manifestation of it in DnD. I know some refer to her as a fey lord, as if that is different than an auntie or grandmother. Tell me AJ, would a grandmother hag and a fey lord be comparable?
I'm inspired too, I heard my story telling teacher tell this story. I'll sum it up since I forget the details: This little girl had a doll from her family, which perished, and her uncle sent her into the forest to meet Baba Yaga. The old wrinkly woman told her that she would pick every weed from the garden by the morning or be eaten. Her doll, at night, came to life to comfort her, and by the morning, the doll had finished the chore. The next day, impressed, but still telling the girl she could've done it by hand in an hour, tells her to organize her personal belongings around the oven by tomorrow or else. Then leaves, locking the door. Again the doll comes alive, and by morning, Baba Yaga catches the girl sleeping while the doll worked tirelessly to sort everything, spices and roots, tonics and seasonings. As the girl wakes up, Baba Yaga gives the frightened girl the doll, saying that only a family who cared for their children would have such a thing, also giving the girl a sack of bread. When the girl returned home, her door was left ajar. 5 gold coins replacing her uncle.
Craig Winters actually it's commonly occurring across all ancient mythology in Norse mythology the called the norns I don't remember what they're called in Greek mythology but they also appear in Egyptian to
Just because a creature or human is evil, doesn't mean that they can not be a "friend." But would you really want Baba Yaga as your friend? She would constantly be using you for her own gain. The most evil creatures are the ones that give you everything you want and need without a cost. I have used her time and time a gain in my games, and the PC's have never fought her or really caught on that she is the Baba Yaga. Always giving them exactly what they want. Not what they need mind you, what they want. IN exchange for exactly what she needs, to move her machinations forward.
According to the tales, she can show mercy on children, or the innocent sent to her be slain, and exact revenge on the manipulators. She might assist brave heroes in their selfless quests. But it would be a dangerous thing to tarry in her presence.
Mythologically, she occasionally helps people (If they perform her tasks,) most often children, and always with violence. Most times she offers help, she gon eat you. There was this one time a guy fought her into helping him tho. That was cool.
Huh I wonder what Baba Yaga's connection is then to Baba Lysaga from the Curse of Strahd Module from 5th Edition? Or is that Baba meaning some title given by such beings?
In 2nd edition, you can find an entire module, called The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga. It has the background of the Russian Folklore and in D&D terms. Then, it outlines her hut in detail in different worlds and the interior and its magic. There's an adventure in it. And, finally, it gives her stats, personality, and information about how to run her as an NPC and such. To use it in 5th edition, you'd have to make conversions for the stats and whatnot, but meh.
Oh, and that module also lists previous places in D&D that Baba Yaga and her hut were described, such as other D&D accessories, books, and magazines--so you can hunt them down too :P
Hey, so this isn't super well known, but the correct pronunciation is Baba Yah-gah. Most people say Baba Yaga, as it's spelled, and you're saying... Baba yeah-ga for some reason? Accent I guess.
No, she's an archfey, i.e. a unique Feywild being similar or equal in power to Graz'zt, Orcus, Demogorgon, etc. But she's an evil wyldfae, not aligned with the Seelie/Summer or Unseelie/Winter Courts.
Be careful how to use her - from what I understand from this video, Baba Yaga is basically the pinnacle of all hags in terms of capabilities. She should absolutely _not_ be an enemy your PCs fight, but should bargain with. If they do try to start something, she should just do something to get them out of her hair, without necessarily killing them. She's definitely smart enough to know when a foe is worth fighting. Either way, best of luck, and I hope your campaign works out.
Doll hunter! *pictures a hags hand picking up human children who have been turned into very life like looking dolls into the cauldren, causally.... as just another ingredient of the potion she's making you, but refusing to drink the potion would be rude. so for your own sake you have to suck it up, because you don't even want to imagine what the alternative will be*
AJ Pickett I love how accents subtly change the phonetics in words, as for one creature that i'm super happy is nicely behind the fourth wall, are hags. as i'm as intrested in hearing what barbie jaegar would sound like in your accent in an approximation of a german one as a hag would be in cheifing live human ingredients.
Modern supernatural campaign, the characters meet a now hideous former beauty queen, Barbara Jaeger, (it's Baba Yaga). The characters have to play along with her seeming delusion that she's still pretty, to Baba Yaga's amusement.
I can't believe that something from Slavic mythology is in D&D
Oh sure, if one can tell a story about it, there is a place for it at the gaming table.
DnD steals from all over. Vampires, zombies, dragons have various forms and personalities all over the world. Fairies, dryads, nymphs, firbolg, draw from the fae-folk from all over. If there is something from your own culture, or another that you think is interesting, put it in!
mythology is global
Pre made lore ? D&D will adapt it. And to be honest it kinda cool to have ethnic known. Lore and great to learn new lore from around the globe. … Krampus St Nicholas,St Vitus plague. Etc. Adds something
Would you consider the Dracula story to be Slavic? Strahd is nearly a duplicate down to his back story.
Man i love you. I'm searching internet in those days for panning a 5e campaing with hags, and this video just pops.
I love the idea of having a Baba Yaga as a patron for a warlock who is chaotic good. And she is like the lovely grandma BUT. If the adventurer was to bring his party with him to see grandma and they weren’t “good” then she would be asking “oh my darling, you shouldn’t be around people like this. I told you to be careful. Now I shall eat them so you don’t have to worry.” Which the warlock would “hopefully” try and convince her not to. But she would still be very cold and evil to anyone who wasn’t “good”.
I like the idea of her giving tea to people and it is the best they have ever had but to the neutral or evil PC’s it would be pee or 50 years gone off milk or just poison that looks like tea
i loved that! ❤👏👍 fay faery fairly friendly old hag grandmonster. "what's in the cookies?" ans "that depends on who eats them!"
That naked sorcerer: That would be Koschei the Deathless. An intriguing charecter in his own right. If you want to remain faithful to myth, make him a lich. He really had the first phylactery, hiding his heart away in an egg in a chicken in a fox in a tree on an island in the middle of nowhere.
Im running a game soon w/both a lich and a fairy king as player characters. The lich is going to be trying to recollect the liches of the world under his thumb. Totally having the two players linked by The Naked Sorcerer! Thank you for the extra detail!
Excellent video. Definitely captures the sheer creepiness of the Slavic legend. Definitely like the shoutout to Koschie the Deathless.
For further reading, Pathfinder expanded on Baba Yaga's story quite a bit. Heck, the whole Reign of Winter campaign revolves around her and her influence on the world of Golarion and others, which may be rather familiar to some of us.
There was also an issue of Dragon and a one-shot high level adventure that tie her to Iggwilv and the demon lord Kostchtchie.
She's definitely an epic mover and shaker across the planes.
Stock Villain yea in one of the Dragon magazines it said Iggwilv is Baba Yaga's adopted daughter
To get the feel of Baba Yaga, one must read Russian and other Slavic fairy tales, of course. In some, Baba Yaga is an obvious villain. In others, she helps the hero with advice and magic items against a more dangerous foe, while remaining morally ambiguous.
While it is not quite D&D anymore, Baba Yaga plays a somewhat important in Pathfinder's default setting of Golarion: she conquered the eastern part of Scandinavia-inspired Land of Linnorm Kings in less than a month, cursed it with eternal winter, placed one of her daughters upon the throne, and left, forming the second Russia-inspired nation of the setting, Irrisen. She does not rule much over the place - she comes every century, takes her daughter and her descendants, places another, and leaves. In Irrisen, frost wolves, ice trolls, and evil fey walk on the streets, while locals are subject to whims of cruel nobility who wait with fear for nearing end of the cycle. When I used Baba Yaga in my previous campaign, I made a couple of references to the place.
And, oh, it is properly pronounced "ya-GAH". Sorry!
So boom... I got another story set up. Noble family having a power struggle. The next heir to become the head of the family is a young boy. However, the jealous uncle isnt having it. He has his lackeys kidnap him and bring him to the frozen wilds where Baba Yaga is said to frequent.
The poor boy of course eventually finds Baba Yaga who ends up testing him soon after his capture. He succeeds in passing the test displaying quick wit and courage. Baba Yaga approved and agreed to help the boy take revenge and reclaim his birthright.
She gives him a powerful ring capable of boosting ones magical power. You see Baba yaga sensed the boy was a wild mage sorcerer and couldnt resist the idea of the chaos he could possibly bring upon his enemies. Baba Yaga decided train him for a number of years. Teaching him that nature of weird magic. She also had him carry out varies different task. These ranged from mundane errands to dangerous adventures that required his quick wit as well as magical power.
When he was finally old enough he left her care and returned to wreck havoc on those who wronged him. His birthright would be his at all cost all while Baba Yaga gleefully watched from the distance. Waiting see to see how this bloody tale would unfold.
Be it for good or ill that boy is going to cause a good deal of chaos
this reminds me of a campaign i was running with ascetic monk and i had the boba yaga try to talk them into coming to their hut . one of the hags touched him and triggered his tough of golden ice ability and continued to pummel the poor hag to death lo.
When you look at the raw numbers, you tend to think, "Ah, ok. This is totally doable. We can definately defeat that hut... how bad can the crone be...?"
One never really takes into account the role play aspect of the encounter, like remembering the hag's got allies, prep time, obscure magic, and me having no idea and charging in and being forced to retreat before making it thru the front door ;_;
And that's a regular hag. Expecting a Baba Yaga encounter to go like a regular hag encounter is like expecting Hercules, Thor, or Steve Rogers to be "just another fighter..."
When you mentioned her BFF’s the disembodied hands I immediately thought those horrendous ceiling hands from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina 😩
My kids wanted to start gaming. I've started them out near the beginning of Torils history. One of the characters is a Druid I would like to see become Mother Nature, we have a Raw Mage named Mystryl who is slated to become the Goddess of Magic Mystra, and we have a Dwarf named Yaga who is a Rogue Artificer, she makes magic items. One day she will be known as Baba Yaga, or as the humans say, Mother Yaga, as Baba is Dwarven for mother.
I thought it would be a great way to teach them Faerun history while giving us a significant role to play in the Realms.
Even if I never intend to use Baba Yaga in a campaign, it's cool to hear the lore. It gets me thinking about how Baba Yaga could have influenced the mythology of witches with the riding on brooms and having a coven of 3. And then I draw parallels to media, in The Ritual, 3 friends find a cabin in the woods that seemingly judges who's innocent and who's not. Though I'm not really sure, that was an odd movie. Also there's The Sword with songs like The Mother, The Maiden, The Crone, and Tres Brujas.
Dragon magazine #83 had a really cool adventure / setting using Baba Yaga - 'The Dancing Hut'. Her hut was like a TARDIS, and had all sorts of cool stuff inside. Worth checking out - www.annarchive.com/files/Drmg083.pdf
When i think of Baba Yaga i think of the weird Hags that spam Fireballs in the Chalice dungeons in Bloodborne
This was so very helpful deciding on how to make her a patron for one of my characters in an upcoming campaign, thank you so much for all the great information.
You're very welcome!
She's the maiden, mother, and crone.... Interesting... There's a lot of good story hooks with this old bat....
If you've ever read the Dresden Files, she reminds me heavily of the Queens of Faery... Summer and Winter Courts, three queens each. The Lady, The Queen, and the Mother. Mother Winter is described as an old hag with a hooded cloak. She has several pairs of dentures, one of which has iron teeth. She lives in a cottage at the very heart of Faery with her summer counterpart, Mother Summer, who is her diametric opposite. An able bodied, matronly old woman. Mab and Titania are the Queens, and at the beginning, Maev and Aurora are the Ladies of winter and summer respectively for both. In one book, Harry (foolishly) attempts to summon Mother Winter to the mortal realm, and one of the names he calls her is Baba Yaga... He also names her Skuld and Atropo. She's amused and pissed that he attempted to summon her during the summer season. It's a tense interview.
It is truly amazing how quickly you produce this great content. I subscribed a few days ago and I already spent waaaaaaaay too much time on this channel :D
Same story from me, 8 months later.
You know AJ. You could do an entire separate video on the hut and her magic items! 😃 on another note,I was wondering if you might consider doing another vampire video but this one would be the dreaded Penaggalen I first spotted in the 1981 Fiend Folio,a really twisted version of the classic vampire! And even more compelling is the fact its...well,just sick as fuck!
I love baba yaga.. I know what it feels like to go in and listen to something that dont talk then you go out and everybody left.. I can familiarize with that
Nice, you finally did a video on John Wick
Wow! More Feywild stuff! My favourite area in dnd and literally the least explored area in 5E. I remember asking for videos on the feywild about 9 months ago 😊 so happy to get some now
All fear the mighty Baba Yaga!!!!!!!!!!!! You got to love that name
That story in the beginning is really good. Also, you have a great voice. You should do readings of such stories, copyrights allowing.
Baba Yaga sounds like a wonderful patron for a warlock
As someone who has witnessed a party member make a deal with Baba Yaga I can say they you’d only want that if you like pain. Party member died and she used dark magic to drag her screaming from the afterlife and then Geased her so she could never leave her service. If you’ve read the dresden files she was like an even more vindictive and cruel Mab
@@pantasticlaire3966 I wouldn't expect any less from an ancient and legendary Hag
Just an Average Dragon she was actually a public figure too and it was soooo irritating not being able to do anything to her for so long. I low key built my sorcerer as a mage slayer to I could duel her at someone point😂
She has been in dnd for a long time. Her house is in 2nd ed artifacts compendium.
Wow, I loved the short narrative at the beginning. It really gives substance to the creature. It adds to the facts that you lay down for the community. I wish you did more narratives like that!!!
Workin on it! :)
@@AJPickett You have my gratitude, my DM
that looks nothing like John WIck
As one running a campaign with Hags as the focal point, I LOVE this. I cannot say openly what my plans are (players might read this), but your input is helpful and inspiring.
I ran my players through the Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga! I loved it and they hated it!!!! Thanks for the vid A.J.
Great story/storytelling and also great art( as always ).I have never heard this fable before so it was most interesting to listen to. Thank you for all the hard work you put into your channel, I enjoy it very much.
Hey AJ. I am running curse of strahd adventure. I have looked through the book. I will use the lore of Baba Yaga to better enhance the encounter with Baba Lysaga. Thank you for this timely upload.
As a former player from back in the day, I was THRILLED to come across your channel! All my audio listening has been put on hold until I get thru all your videos. Your research and attention to detail has reinforced all the fond memories of my d&d days! Thank you so much and keep up the excellent work!
Thanks Craig!
Yeah man,that's what I'm talking about Baba Yaga and her Hut on fowls legs. Ask and Ye shall receive eh? Lol thanks "KiwiMan" It pleases me to no end you took my suggestion and made a video on her! Ive watched it multiple times as have my players!
I'm convinced Baba Yaga started out as a pagan deity of immense notoriety.
She may have been originally from before written history (thousands of years ago).
baba yaga is the crone of crones the motherless mother
In my campaign, when travelling over land, you roll a d100 to check for an encounter. A roll of 96-98 is a Weird Encounter; roll a 20 on that d20 table and you encounter Baba Yaga. Probably one of the potentially worst encounters on that table, maybe just a shock if she passes you by, or maybe, just maybe, an opportunity to get a powerful service from her... For a price.
this was nice one. a story. d&d context. real world mythology. well organized.
This is really well done. New to your channel, but I suspect I'll be spending a long time going through your videos and enjoying them.
By the end, you will have a black belt in D&D
I dont know if anyone else has said it and I know its an old video but because its a Russian name the pronunciation is 'yah-GAH', the emphasis is on the -ga. That being said, that's the Earth pronunciation and it could be entirely different on Faerun.
Ooh her and the lady of pain on a cold winter night mmm...
Man the last part of that name is one slip up away from saying a word you do not want to say.
Yoga... there, I said it. Lets move on with our lives and never speak of this again.
Man, I REALLY want to get this into a campaign. This would be an awesome and easy miniature to DIY!
OOOOH, MY ZEALY BOY PUT UP A VIDEO RIGHT WHEN I LOGGED IN TO RUclips, YAAAAYYY!!!
I may have said this already, but it's pronounced Bah-Bah- Yah-Gah.
Also, the name means lit. "Old Women."
And there's more than one.
I mention there is more than one.
AJ I love the short stories keep it up 😀
This is gunna be a major help for my Avo Bruxa home brew.
When you come across Russian gangsters who have been head shot then you'll know that "Baba Yaga's" dog was killed.
So with Baba Yaga actually being 3 characters in one as you described, is she a perversion of the Fates (or Norns as they're known in Norse mythology)?
The cultures that contain these stories were not exclusive from one another, so, there may have been a lot of folklore that they shared.
I keep coming back to this ecology video. THE best version of the lore of the terrifying and fair, baba yaga
Your voice overs are really improving. Felt like a short story.
Thanks :)
Yup defo upping his game, great vid as always AJ
Here's another weird old thing Baba Yaga does:
She often took things away by having hands come out of the floor and take them. Not people though. Literally just grain.
Edit: And she'll also probably kill you if you decide to ask about it.
Lol. "She'll probably kill you if you decide to ask about it" covers pretty much everything she does, doesn't it?
So I wonder if Baba Lysaga is copycat or something, she has many aspects, but was a human, and I guess technically in the Shadowfell.
Got a love for the weirdness of hags. Was just in the middle of writing up the economics of the feywild, especially on hags, which I know are supposed to be part of neither the Seelie or Unseelie Court. Was finding a lot of conflicting information on the courts, especially for 5e, older ones said the Unseelie were evil and ugly, but newer info said it is specifically not, and just two different ideologies.
Had to be creative more, but I was characterizing both courts as caring about beauty, with the Summer Court seeing happiness as the defining nature of beauty, friendly where they have large and boisterous parties that could be too much for a human, and a threat if the mood is ruined at the party. The Gloaming Court holds hunts against intruders and as social events, yet welcoming if encountered right, they see beauty in sadness, in tragedy that one mourns but is also motivated by it. No real source for exact differences, other than possibly the seasonal differences of Eladrin, to explain how they both care about beauty and are opposed without technically being good or evil.
Wondering now if I should include Baba Yaga as a third faction, characteristic of the twisted and unpredictable nature of hags, with denizens of ugly fey, yet only helpful to humanoids with pure intentions as a reflection of their will. But I need to think of something she wants. Unless coming across and helping a pure intentioned being is payment, as it benefits her.
"With a fuk'in pencil!"
They call him Baba Yaga.
The boogeyman?
Well, John wasn't exactly the boogeyman. He was the one you sent to kill the fucking boogeyman!
Oh...
In the second movie you get to see him do it. 😸ghod how i love those films...
Yes. FATALITY:)
Is Koschei the deathless part of DnD to?Chernobog and Baleobog? Chernobog would be a cool god to toss in.
Yes yess yesss! Been waiting!
This is a great video to watch after reading Tasha's
Kostchtchie is actual one of my favorite demon lords. I have to say Baba Yaga scares me more than just about anyone. All things considered could Baba Yaga take any of the known demon lords?
Yes, through artifice and imagination, allies and manipulating rivals, she can bring down the mighty.
AJ Pickett That would be a fight to see.
While I imagine her at least as powerful as a demon lord I do not see her a direct combatant. No, she would definitely use indirect means to get what she wants. Thus while I can see demon lords wary of her they would also avail themselves of her services...when she is willing to offer.
My introduction to baba yaga was Orson Scott Card's novel Enchanted, as the villain of that book. It's great fun, one of my very favorite books ever
can you do a video on Iggwilv
I think I certainly should
Bless the Mighty GlueStick
sounds like a hag archfey of sorts if put into more common dnd terms
digunder14 she is actually a Demi god in Pathfinder
She’d be an amazing patron for a warlock :)
@@TheTerrainWizard hehe
Archfey are at least demigod level. So yes, I would say she is a kind of Archfey. What exactly she holds dominion over besides her chicken leg hut...that is perhaps the scariest question of all.
She dose seem the most reasonable of all hags, not good by any means but she honours her word more then most hags would
One more: Couldn't resist. Mystery Science Theater 3000- Jack Frost. If you like laughing at terrible movies there's none better and Baba Yaga makes a suitably awkward and terrible appearance. Start watching at 50:58 for the Baba Yaga entrance. Enjoy. ruclips.net/video/CVpOaeBtr7w/видео.html
The Little Grandmothers are not to be trifled with
Her mortar flies too!
How did I miss this video! I've been subscribed for so long! Anyways amazing work
Hags are creepy that's why they make awesome villains
Who is Baba Lysaga in Curse of Strahd?
@@relugar_dudes1040 that's madam eve....loolz.
I have this backstory for an abyssal tiefling paladin involving a run-in with Baba Yaga.
After being run out of her village as a child, she comes across Baba Yaga's hut, and ends up meeting the hag herself. After hearing some of her story, Baba Yaga sets a task upon her: she is to clean the legs of her hut by the time the hag returns from some unknown business. And if it's not spotless, Baba Yaga will then eat her. The legs, of course, are covered in all sorts of vile muck and rot. And when the young tiefling tries to get to work, all of the hag's cleaning supplies grow legs and run away from her. But somehow, the tiefling does manage to secure a way of cleaning it, and Baba Yaga gives her a nice warm breakfast the next morning and sends her on her way.
Anyone care to venture a guess of how our heroine pulled it off? My only hint is that it is definitely something a hag would absolutely get a kick out of seeing a mortal do.
Prestidigitation?
@@williethenerfherder2193 Nope. Any other guesses? I'll give you one hint - what she had to do was so gross that only the most desperate person would even consider it.
She licked it
@@jacobfreeman5444 You are correct.
Here's an idea more of a question wouldn't it be possible for an extremely powerful individual may be a child who has sorcerer abilities or psionic powers to dream so powerfully that there mind or Spirit or whatever whines up in the feywild kind of like astral projection
Sure.
This vaguely reminds me of somebody hallucinating from a waking dream, except it's actually happening, but only they see it.
But AJ what is the most wicked thing in the Feywild
Whatever you've annoyed the most.
BoojumFed lol death by talking woodland critters
Daniel Deihl "The Nothing"
AJ Pickett was that a Never Ending Story reference my good sir !?
Daniel Deihl it was.
Thanks for the vid sir.
I notice the similarity with the creature in the movie Babadook, both in name and somewhat in physical form. Anyone know if Babadook comes from Slavic folklore as well, or if the Director is Slavic?
the first app dragon mag, one of my favs
I turned her into a frog once!
Bet you regretted that
Could perhaps be interesting to have her immense divination powers originate from actually spiritually time traveling, thus sending her to witness events in the past, present or future, but the further she travels the more she pays in years as her spirit experiences the time while her body remains in place only to age when the spirit return. Thus she either wants youth or you could have her trade with the party (it's the route I'd go) for years of their life.
I'd consider representing this as the character suffering some exhaustion in the short term, but note down the number of years traded as a thing for later. It also somewhat limits what she can see, as looking too far back or forward would leave her an immobile husk (though, I'd say, still alive thanks to her fey nature). With enough years traded she could even become "naturally" young and beautiful, which could serve some nefarious goal where a non-magical disguise is of use to her (as opposed to simply using magic to temporarily alter her form).
Perhaps she needs a youthful form to bear children? In that chase what is she planning to do with said child, given how powerful some of her other children have turned out to be? Will it be a powerful servant? Independent agent? The rightful heir to a kingdom? Perhaps even a kingdom that has yet to rise, for she has seen the future, the fall of this dynasty and the rise of the next, and the generation after will now serve her so she can achieve whatever nefarious plan she has in mind.
Perhaps she saw the coming of Orcus, so she will place her pawns in anticipation to meet the threat and gain the most from the coming darkness. Thus she has already begun to push her pawns into place to come out on top. For she plays a long game, beyond the sight of mere mortals. Thus the child she spared has a role to play as well.
I like to think that Baba yaga is not actually a hag, but an avatar of the Hag's patron diety if not a actual manifestation of it in DnD. I know some refer to her as a fey lord, as if that is different than an auntie or grandmother. Tell me AJ, would a grandmother hag and a fey lord be comparable?
Baba Yaga is a fey lord, as all hags were originally fey (but migrated to the lower planes to escape the restrictions of a narrative based reality)
I have to use her in my campaign!
I'm inspired too, I heard my story telling teacher tell this story. I'll sum it up since I forget the details: This little girl had a doll from her family, which perished, and her uncle sent her into the forest to meet Baba Yaga. The old wrinkly woman told her that she would pick every weed from the garden by the morning or be eaten. Her doll, at night, came to life to comfort her, and by the morning, the doll had finished the chore. The next day, impressed, but still telling the girl she could've done it by hand in an hour, tells her to organize her personal belongings around the oven by tomorrow or else. Then leaves, locking the door. Again the doll comes alive, and by morning, Baba Yaga catches the girl sleeping while the doll worked tirelessly to sort everything, spices and roots, tonics and seasonings. As the girl wakes up, Baba Yaga gives the frightened girl the doll, saying that only a family who cared for their children would have such a thing, also giving the girl a sack of bread. When the girl returned home, her door was left ajar. 5 gold coins replacing her uncle.
good video AJ
Iggwilv's supposed mother. Haha
So it is said.
A better question is. Who is more powerful. Haha. Oooh. Just setting that up. *evil DM Grin*
Baba Yaga and the 40 thieves!
Baba Yaga and the 40 thieves!
Baba Yaga and the 40 thieves!
BABA YAGA AND THE 40 THIEVES!
Why did they incorporate Maiden mother and crone that doesn't make sense
Where do you think that tradition came from?
I thought maiden, matron, crone was old greek.
Craig Winters actually it's commonly occurring across all ancient mythology in Norse mythology the called the norns I don't remember what they're called in Greek mythology but they also appear in Egyptian to
linguistically oversight 86
Great man-splaining. LOL! And your grammer needs work "too". LOL!
three notable architypical phases of female life.
Is Baba Yaga evil or is it possible to befriend her? She seems like a very interesting one to talk to.
Just because a creature or human is evil, doesn't mean that they can not be a "friend." But would you really want Baba Yaga as your friend? She would constantly be using you for her own gain. The most evil creatures are the ones that give you everything you want and need without a cost. I have used her time and time a gain in my games, and the PC's have never fought her or really caught on that she is the Baba Yaga. Always giving them exactly what they want. Not what they need mind you, what they want. IN exchange for exactly what she needs, to move her machinations forward.
According to the tales, she can show mercy on children, or the innocent sent to her be slain, and exact revenge on the manipulators. She might assist brave heroes in their selfless quests. But it would be a dangerous thing to tarry in her presence.
Mythologically, she occasionally helps people (If they perform her tasks,) most often children, and always with violence. Most times she offers help, she gon eat you.
There was this one time a guy fought her into helping him tho. That was cool.
What's with the references to Firbolgs in this reading?
I like Firbolg rangers.
I'm working Baba Yaga into a campaign. I'm also working on a John Wick to kill the boogie man lol
Huh I wonder what Baba Yaga's connection is then to Baba Lysaga from the Curse of Strahd Module from 5th Edition? Or is that Baba meaning some title given by such beings?
Mark Torres I think that might have been left ambiguous on purpose for the DM to tie it in however they want.
Mark Torres i think baba means in slavic and romanian Hag that's wat i heard once
baba lasagna
Some say she kills with a Pencil 3+ of piercing
Tardy to the party - do you happen to know WHICH specific mags had her D&D based lore? There are....a lot.
Yo: also late... but I believe it is green hags
In 2nd edition, you can find an entire module, called The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga. It has the background of the Russian Folklore and in D&D terms. Then, it outlines her hut in detail in different worlds and the interior and its magic. There's an adventure in it. And, finally, it gives her stats, personality, and information about how to run her as an NPC and such. To use it in 5th edition, you'd have to make conversions for the stats and whatnot, but meh.
Oh, and that module also lists previous places in D&D that Baba Yaga and her hut were described, such as other D&D accessories, books, and magazines--so you can hunt them down too :P
Baba Yaga vs lesser deity Vecna- who wins?
Vecna
@@AJPickett is the gap between their power vast? Or is it only a little, because from what I've seen she's close to lesser deity power isn't she?
@@josephstrand3595 she is a legendary creature, a fey lord, but even so, not the most powerful of the fey.
Hey, so this isn't super well known, but the correct pronunciation is Baba Yah-gah. Most people say Baba Yaga, as it's spelled, and you're saying... Baba yeah-ga for some reason? Accent I guess.
3.14 Dragon His pronunciation is closer to Russian than the typical American pronunciation, but the emphasis should be on the second syllable.
3.14 Dragon it's my accent
Is Baba Yaga older than Cegilune?
She could well be, yes.
Shes an half ogre wizard isnt she? With some druid magic?
No, she's an archfey, i.e. a unique Feywild being similar or equal in power to Graz'zt, Orcus, Demogorgon, etc.
But she's an evil wyldfae, not aligned with the Seelie/Summer or Unseelie/Winter Courts.
She’s basically a Fey god.
It's John Wick! :-)
I'm literally making my first campaign and I wanted to incorporate Baba Yaga, I've been looking at different hags.
Dragon Magazine featured her. I think they even gave her stats and had a layout of her hut.
@@TheTerrainWizard I just saw that she would be featured in the canon of Tasha's Cauldron too!
Claudia Rose so awesome!
Be careful how to use her - from what I understand from this video, Baba Yaga is basically the pinnacle of all hags in terms of capabilities. She should absolutely _not_ be an enemy your PCs fight, but should bargain with. If they do try to start something, she should just do something to get them out of her hair, without necessarily killing them. She's definitely smart enough to know when a foe is worth fighting.
Either way, best of luck, and I hope your campaign works out.
Barbie Jaeger
Hunter of dolls
Doll hunter! *pictures a hags hand picking up human children who have been turned into very life like looking dolls into the cauldren, causally.... as just another ingredient of the potion she's making you, but refusing to drink the potion would be rude. so for your own sake you have to suck it up, because you don't even want to imagine what the alternative will be*
AJ Pickett I love how accents subtly change the phonetics in words, as for one creature that i'm super happy is nicely behind the fourth wall, are hags. as i'm as intrested in hearing what barbie jaegar would sound like in your accent in an approximation of a german one as a hag would be in cheifing live human ingredients.
Modern supernatural campaign, the characters meet a now hideous former beauty queen, Barbara Jaeger, (it's Baba Yaga). The characters have to play along with her seeming delusion that she's still pretty, to Baba Yaga's amusement.
Zaprozhan Inspiration is endless isn't it. 👍
Isn't baba yaga russian
Russia used to be larger :) there are versions of Baba Yaga all over the place.
Russians are a Slavic people. There are stories of Babay Yaga like figures in all Slavic cultures.
dragon ball talk Pray to Perun for protection.
Jonathan Luoto i love the sound of the word.
It was originally a Slavic tale 🎃
John Wick
It probably would have helped you to know the actual stories of the actual baba yaga. They used those to design this.
especially because of how often you mispronounced this very famous name.
:-)
It's not Baba Yeahga it's Jaga
Its Yaga, because it is ancient slavic language.