I was skeptical of your d&d videos at first because I thought "oh great just another series of lore videos." But Rhexx, I have found that you make some of the most nuanced, thoroughly researched and detailed videos on DND lore available. your videos are legitimately useful for me as a dungeon master and for my players for the purposes of role-playing. Your insight into elven culture and the emphasis they place on the afterlife is so crucial and I never even knew.
@@tohellwithyourcrap8045 make that a 3 video series not to mention the rest of his DnD lore videos. I would have never GMed a campaign if it weren't for Mr.Rhexx's videos. It helps give depth to the backstories and forces my players to think a bit when I explain why certain things are/are not allowed.
@@raminazimi4978 I would recommend reading the novels about these events hes covering if you are using it as canon. I personally don't argue with the DM as they are the "overgod". Buut if it's a matter of canon accuracy I wouldn't use rhexx as the end all. It's online sourced only it seems as it contradicts about 80ish percent of actual canon. The one major demon responsible for the drows taint etc... Skipped over the Daemonfey roots and fey'ri(not to mention the so called attachment to religion and the actual events of the downfall of lloth which are written about but online seem to have three versions)... As I always say when criticize his videos. I love em but canon they are not. More general sourcebook quotes arranged together. Until these elf ones I didn't really realize (shrug). But I seriously recommend the thirty or so novels that expound on the generalities and inconsistencies. You will lose a "well you can't cuz of canon" to anyone bringing in the authors(Id pull the cuz im DM and say so instead, just saying)
They’ve had decades and many different writers to build up not only a single planet but an entire multiverse of stories. But 5E seems like it wants to bring things in without too much context or explanation which is a shame. You’d never know all this cool stuff if it weren’t for reading older editions or awesome lore video channels like MrRhexx, AJpicket, Jordanphan, etc.
Well, there is that most of published adventures in D&D are about preserving the status quo, and they don't really allow Players doing things like defeating big bad immortal demon lord permanently. Like sure, there are lot of campaigns where Tiamat gets banished for hundred of years until next campaign comes out and previous ones never apparently happened because Tiamat would be less scary if she was defeated once per year.
@@sanddry738 that's why I'm skeptical about 5E. I mean I want to play, I even have the player's handbook and Mordenkainen's Tome(and the monster manual of course!) but I find the lore and the variety of class lore/abilities/roleplay lackluster compared to more developed game rules systems.
there are types of magic that can still be used without the weave, and sometimes i think the charm effect can be applied to none magical abilities as well.
Just last video they described a high magic spell elves have access to that lets them anti-magic an individual, so that everyone else can do magic but they cant. I suspect that might allow an elf to be charmed while anti-magic'd
@Bob Bob And you are lacking in proper reading skills. I meant that I thought High Elven Magic would be less effective because of the limitations Mystra placed rather than Karsus touching the Weave in a bad place.
@Bob Bob Read MrRhexx response: [quote]They got pretty pissed because Karsus's Avatar poisoned the weave, now elves can't do High Magic spells without major drawbacks.[/quote].
So if elves have suck a high dependence on the weave how did the 100 years the broken weave effect them. Especially newly born elves. I would think that it would effect there reverie.
I'm sure it might get there but with all the elven lore, kind of wondering how it affects half-elves. Can they see the weave, do they have reverie so on and so forth.
Basically all half-elves are >50% of the non-elf parent. This simply means use the other parent's lore with elven augmentation. (I.E. Half - elves use the human side for soul lore as only elves are allowed to reincarnate and only with true elf lineage.)
I constantly come back to your videos to inform the underlying lore of my campaigns, allowing me to focus on the complexity of the "now" for the characters' stories, and providing a much more complete experience for my players. This series is an INCREDIBLE tool, and I can't qualify their value to me and my tables. Thank you.
I'm so happy you covered Eilistraee. She is one of my favorite goddesses in the whole D&D pantheon. I hope at some point you talk about the different gods and eventually get to go more in depth with her.
@Bob Bob Eilistraee hs absolutely no Mary Sue traits--she's got no special skills or whatever compared to the rest of the deities, and she never got any victory for free (in fact, she's always struggled and still does). She's pretty much the underdog, except she doesn't magically win the day with the power of plot armor and coolness.
@Bob Bob Lol. She has a whole culture behind her, and her culture even predates Lolth's on Toril (Miyeritar). Also, please realize that a race not being a monoculture is far different from being a special snoflake. Monocultures are lazy, trash-tier worldbuilding that do nothing but hold the D&D narrative back, and one of the reasons why D&D stories are generally regarded as third class in the fantasy genre. They make absolutely 0 sense, since people who develop in different places and communites (like the drow) are bound to form different cultures. >However those players who play good hearted drow are the worst. We're in 2020; narrative is going forward and leaving outdate shit behind, for better stories. It's what happens when a genre evolves, rather than staying perpetually bound to objectively bad constructes, like monocultures.
Surface Elves: A filthy traitor drow dares intrude on our home!? Die! "Androgynous" drow: *[flips up their skirt]* Surface Elves: Oh, I see. Call it off everyone, we're good!
@@supremecaffeine2633 Also, don't call trans folks traps. Not only is it offensive and ludicrous when you know the origin, it's a term and idea that's gotten more than a few trans folks killed or hurt pretty severely.
This whole thing with the Elves' anatomy made me interested in how Half-Elves work, or more accurately, how different they are from both their human and elven parent. Is there a video on them in the planning?
in most dnd mediums i have seen they look human but more fair. tend to be slender, beautiful or handsome. with enough human twist to not pass as true elves. perhaps more freckles or less pointed ears or a more rugged chin or a bulkier build etc. they have a human soul and dont get reincarnated into another elf. they do take on racial abilites such as seeing in the dark but not so sure on magical racial abilities.
What happens when a half-elf and a full-blooded elf have a child? Can that child reincarnate? If not, what happens when that child (¾-elf) and another full elf have a child, now a ⅞-elf - does that child reincarnate?
@@joshduhman2029 Sorry, didn't see this when you posted it. But I wanted to say I find the soul part very interesting as a determiner for why they're more human than elven, and I hadn't considered that in the past. Souls are, after all, very important in D&D.
@@SMiki55 a half elf and a full blooded elf will produce a elf that is almost indistinguishable from full blooded elves but its unclear if they regain the trance edit: there is a 1/4 chance of two half elves to produce offspring that can enter the trance which i could then assume a more elf soul. From what I read; trance = reverie of arvandor. If you have past lives and memories of arvandor that means correllon walked your soul to the new body which means your still in the reincarnation cycle.
I've been watching your stuff for sometime now and binging all the D&D content for the last couple of days. I never had the chance to play D&D with friends, just read a ton of the books and played some of the PC games. There's something nostalgic about hearing you tell all this lore, like my inner child has finally found that place that I always wanted to be. Y con amigos con quien disfrutarlo tambien! I watched your most recent Elvish video and thinking that I consumed all the content, feeling kinda empty and guilty I headed over to Patreon but was suddenly distracted and then afterwards came back to RUclips and refreshed the tab. It brought me right back here to my surprise and elation to yet another video just uploaded! Mr.Rhexx, mad love I am now officially your 80th patreon supporter. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to that I truly enjoy. Be well!
15:27 Metal in your armor blocks spell casting? I thought that the spell check penalty came from the armor's mobility limitation (which also limits dexterity) for the *somatic component* of the spell, thus the chance for having spell failure, because the caster didn't move their body correctly during casting. I recall that still spell (casting a spell without somatic component) allowed casters to cast without armor penalty when casting arcane magic (for some reason divine magic ignores armor check penalty).
LifeLikeSage 2nd edition was more definite about not being able to use metal armor while casting. Newer editions use the armor check penalty to allow a sliding scale.
I've never played D&D and I've always wanted to make a drider PC, but it'd be tricky to make a PC out of an evil elf that's tranformed into a monster. I've fantasized how I could make a plausible backstory for a neutral good one. Maybe she was a powerful sorceress / wizard, but failed her trial to become one of Lolth's priestesses by refusing to kill her kind-hearted but weak brother and was cursed to wonder as a drider in the underdark until she helps out a group of adventurers. Perhaps she makes a silk rope to get them out of a pit or drops from the ceiling onto an enemy that was about to kill someone. She could polymorph herself to enter town without creating a panic or serve as a mount for smaller party members while in the wilderness. I picture her making silk scarves for everyone or patching clothing with her spinnerets. Basically, a very sweet person who was raised in a harsh culture and forced into a monstrous form, but never lost her empathy. Kind of sounds like an interesting backup character to show up and replace a PC that dies while in the underdark.
Should not be to hard to fix as long as you are not attached to the existing drow racial traits, since they might get in the way but yeah an sweet kind female drider might not be the Most original concept, it has been done before, but it shure is fun
I've got so many ideas on how to introduce the character. I could be casually hanging upside down in a tunnel where my head is at eye level and the ranger rounds a corner and stumbles across me and yells in surprise and I scream back. The party runs up and the fighter says "what's the problem?!" and I point at the ranger and say "He yelled at me! It was *terrifying* !" Then I start crying into my hair because I'm still upside down.
It's possible to make a drider that's good aligned. You could have it to where the character was wondering the underdark aimlessly. Starving, on the verge of death, until *insert person/people here* saved you. Taking you back to their home, and treating you. Though it was a long process, they helped you turn your ways, and taught you good morals.
So in truth they actually have told "you" all about the elven empires, people just don't own or read those books. So thank you for consolidating and explaining the information to those unaware or uninitiated with the Faerun lore. My personal favorite Elfs are that of Dark Sun. Now they are some interesting peoples.
@@geoleo965 ??????? I've heard of the american holliday of thanksgiving, the last frontier holding christmas at bay where you eat turkey and stuff, but dafuck this festival you speak of, and why should dnd elves unite there? I simply do not get the reference/ joke
@@defensivekobra3873 It's a giant parade usually held in New York with tons of floats and giant balloons of characters and mascots from movies or companies and everyone gathers there and have a fun time. I haven't had cable in years and live across the coast, so that's as far as I know goes on. Forgot: the joke was about Santa's elves being there, but replaced by DnD Elves.
I wonder, if elves can see in darkness due to the way the weave interacts with creatures and objects, would they not be able to see the weave interacting with invisible creatures?
if they use magic to become invisible no, they just see how the weave affects physical objects and compare it to there normal sight so transparent glass would still be seen as transparent in the darknes
I love your explanation of Elvish dark vision here & a lot of this is a learned skill based on a adaptive ability. You really put things people haven't really heard about.
Elves enjoy refined hobbies such as archery, high magic, and "Crown" wars against the Green Elves. I bet Corellon is responsible for all this elfin self-loathing and chaotic infighting.
One thing I was curious about. In the Player's Handbook, it talks about the various skin colors common in elves. I can't help but notice that, well, I never see this in even the official art. I guess it is somewhat explained by that fact that elves, in general, are often imagined having skin similar to ours. But it still seems odd that, in the sourcebook, elves seem to be described with a ton of different possible skin colors, yet I hardly ever see any of these more exotic colors.
About the Crown Wars, the dark elves made a lot of madness (making ALL other elves go against them)... But people who mention the Wars don't explain much about how SUN elves started this, made almost the same level of chaos of drow, and lots of them insist to keep a frail memory of ALL this part of history! Aryvandaar was no joke as an Empire, and Malkizid kept his covered influence pretty well.
As a DM, these videos are super useful, entertaining, and inspiring. I'm tweaking the Forgotten Realms Crown of Horns campaign for my players and these videos are helping flesh out the back story involving Lolth and drows. I can't wait to reveal some of this to my players
These videos on elves are fucking amazing bc I was literally trying to do research on dark elves and kept getting confused but this lays it all out so neatly I love it
yo dude you have no idea how much youve inspired me to play dnd and how much your videos have made me want to DM a campaign! youve also made me love dragons, especially pseudodragons. thank you so much!
4:20 worshipers of Eilistrae go to the elven afterlife like other races of elves. The goddess has a small realm of control both in the same place as Lolth and other underdark gods, as well as a primary domain in the realm of the elven gods. The secondary realm is so Eilistrae still has a connection to her underdark followers.
With all these elf lore videos coming down the pipe, it would be cool to get one on Drizzt, and elves like him, since the seem to break the mold for all of elf society.
A simple request. Dwarves or Orcs. They are common, but such ancient races with lots of lore. If you already did either, I some how missed it, but these would be my favorite to hear more about from you!
Glad to see you have found the light of the moon goddess, protector of all good drow. Seriously though she is one of my favorites in the entire pantheon, it's a shame she isnt more well known. Only those who take the time to look often find her, but many in game and out simply assume all drow are evil. I think it's quite unique that the lore mirrors real life in that way.
@@Maid_of_Spiders I actually like it that she isn't well known. It will give my character mystery and can lead to a lot of drama. Who's this mysterious drow woman? She runs and underground criminal organization in a drow city? She's a cultist? Then you find out she's actually good and tries to help the downtrodden and enslaved of Drow society.
@@GallowglassAxe that's a good point. I also think it's cool that out of game mirrors in game. Most people assume all drow are evil by default and because she isnt as well known its often a shock when both players and characters find out she exists.
If possible can u give an estimate time for your next video? I don't play dnd but these videos are so well done and informative. It's like mini stories I can't get enough of.
My next one is already finished and scheduled for release Monday at 1pm EST. After that i believe i should have the one after that done by Wednesday (hopefully).
here i was thinking i understand the elves connected minds, but than you said it's like the warmth of a loved one's hug, so i guess i dont know nothing
Minor correction, but important one: Drow society is based first on class and second on gender. It just so happens that all the highest positions are exclusively for females. That being the priestess of Lolth. But this does not mean that any man has to obey any woman in drow society. The Archmage of menzeborranzan for example is not likely to bow and obey the female drow shopkeeper or guard. Nor is a noble born male warrior likely to obey a shopkeeper either. Drow society is stratified by caste first and gender second, but whenever someone is within the same caste the female always ranks above the male.
Hi, I really enjoy your videos! Though, a question on elves and the anti-magi field. You said they would go crazy in an anti magic field, so what happened to the Elves when magic disappeared due to the the 12th level spell being cast (Karsus' Avatar), there must have been a lot of mad elves and a bunch of stories there. I imagine, that they can't cast high level spells anymore either, but why? How does this affect their relationship with the humans? Did the Elves try to get their magic back?
I wonder how the elves of the Underdark would have survived during the Time of Troubles. No Arcane or Divine magic, no dark vision. It's astounding that such a chaotic place did not plummet into total anarchy.
If you want to know the answer, read "Siege of Darkness". Lolth herself walks the streets of the city of the drow. The third house, full of psionics, plans to usurp the city. Even demons are significantly weakened. It fills the matrons with terror and each of them retreats to their houses, unsure of what to do. They sacrifice males and even females with reckless abandon, hoping to please Lolth. *they do not know it is happening elsewhere*, they believe they have displeased the spider queen and she has abandoned the Drow.
Watch his old Succubus video in the meantime. Not much in Vampires yet, I'd very much be interested in that too. But that video does explain the origins of the original Vampires.
The kobolds didn’t, at least in official lore as far as I know. But my favourite homebrewed society is a big kobold war band called the Cobalt Kobolds that rampage across the land, destroying anything they come across and they all wear cobalt platemail. My current character (a gnome) had his village destroyed and he barely escaped with his life.
@MrRhexx Gotta say I have been watching your videos a while and I love the content you've been putting out, sorry I haven't subscribed till now but I do plan to keep watching your channel. Keep up the Lore content and the information and such on the Lore of Skyrim and D&D loving it.
So with these last 2 videos on the elvish races, my question is how did the sea elves come to be? They have always been my favorite & I've always wondered their origins.
Given that the elves started as formless shifters, like Corellon, being born androgynous (in 5e) basically means an elf can change their sex at will. Thus this is seen, in elven culture, as a direct blessing of Corellon. Hence, you're the coolest if you can do that in most elven societies. Except the Drow, because the Matriarchy does not like some lowly little weak male suddenly deciding he wants to be a big swoll female and become a rival matriarch instead of a servant. Shit like that could upend all of Drow society, because the men start getting ideas that they can be in charge and Lloth will have none of that shit. Thus the baby boy/girl suddenly changing their sex to become a baby girl/boy (or anything inbetween) gets to be spider food, unless they can be hidden long enough to escape Drow society. I mean, in D&D you can pretty much change your sex at will once you can cast Alter Self (2nd level arcane spell), so I don't see it being such a big deal among arcane magic users. More like an odd quirk, unless you happen to be among elves who realize what a big freaking deal being blessed by their grumpy creator is. Like "this person almost got to say in heaven, they must have been so goddamn elf in their last life!". The elfiest of elves? Elviest? Most elven? Most elvish? Let's just go with "born to do something important". :P
That was a change I never liked was that from Tolkien's Dark Elves... They were just the elves who didn't know life under the two great trees in Valinor.... "Dark" held no description whatsoever in regards to Good/Evil.... That is far more interesting to me...
Why you're on elves (though it wouldn't technically count as high magic) I would love one on their towns villages and camp from the different sub races, their pets and mounts like the elven cat or the dog( cant remember the spelling) koshie, their elegant artful weapons and weapon styles like bladesinging
Dark Elves aka green elves made a treaty with dragon and formed Ilythiri. The avariel didn't just survive as Vagabond some went north to Great Glacier . They helped first moon Elves and Sun elves survive . They destroyed themselves in Feywild and had to leave .
I never found the 'pseudoscience' of the 'gland' to be a sufficient explanation for elven resistance to sleep and charm. I get that it is in the published material, but I never felt a need to try to find a way to include all published material as gospel just because it was published. I think it is a bit unneeded, if not lazy , to try and relegate the difference of elves any other race to a single magical gland. I've always explained their resistance to sleep and charm magic to my players as coming from elven reverie itself. With so much self-knowledge and self-awareness - an 'illusion' in the form of a spell telling them 'you are tired' or 'you see this thing over there' would just be less successful, because the knowledge and awareness they have is so deep that 'faking' these things with a spell is something they almost instantly notice.
As a human, at least I hope I'm human, I can't understand how an Elf can stand being constantly bombarded by other Elven thoughts or emotions or how anyone can just read your thoughts like an open book. What if I had a really bad secret I needed to keep? What if, and I know it's weird for an elf to do this but, I was trying to become a Lich? How am I supposed to hide that thought/memory from others?
Androgynous is not dated, is a perfect word to describe someone who looks male-like and differentiate it from the usual feminine look adopted through all of the same specie. You don't worry.
I was curious if I could find out something. Why exactly is the word "androgynous" used? Doesn't that mean "male-like"? I would have thought the word used would be something less, well, gendered.
You gonna do one of the other core player races? You gave so much insight on their culture and now I want to know if there is intricate lore for the other races too.
Love the video! Thanks for all the ideas for writing and playing. I had a question: In the previous video, you mentioned the Lythari Elves. Is there going to be more about them, and how they fit in with the rest of Elven Culture? There is so little lore I can find and since you are so thorough in your research, you could find more that I could not. Thanks and have a great day!
![Lethal Company Music Video 🎵 "Follow The Orders" [VERSION A]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QeooZB4Z7RA/mqdefault.jpg)
I was skeptical of your d&d videos at first because I thought "oh great just another series of lore videos." But Rhexx, I have found that you make some of the most nuanced, thoroughly researched and detailed videos on DND lore available. your videos are legitimately useful for me as a dungeon master and for my players for the purposes of role-playing. Your insight into elven culture and the emphasis they place on the afterlife is so crucial and I never even knew.
@mrpoo20000 no one on RUclips has made a video on elven culture from the forgotten realms like this, not even close. And it's a two video series
@@tohellwithyourcrap8045 make that a 3 video series not to mention the rest of his DnD lore videos. I would have never GMed a campaign if it weren't for Mr.Rhexx's videos. It helps give depth to the backstories and forces my players to think a bit when I explain why certain things are/are not allowed.
@@raminazimi4978 I would recommend reading the novels about these events hes covering if you are using it as canon. I personally don't argue with the DM as they are the "overgod". Buut if it's a matter of canon accuracy I wouldn't use rhexx as the end all. It's online sourced only it seems as it contradicts about 80ish percent of actual canon. The one major demon responsible for the drows taint etc... Skipped over the Daemonfey roots and fey'ri(not to mention the so called attachment to religion and the actual events of the downfall of lloth which are written about but online seem to have three versions)... As I always say when criticize his videos. I love em but canon they are not. More general sourcebook quotes arranged together. Until these elf ones I didn't really realize (shrug). But I seriously recommend the thirty or so novels that expound on the generalities and inconsistencies. You will lose a "well you can't cuz of canon" to anyone bringing in the authors(Id pull the cuz im DM and say so instead, just saying)
@@bayoubilly5176 homebrew
Lore video> all other videos
Ahg, imagine trying to flirt with an elf but they just can't stop staring at the damn broccoli in your teeth. Embarrassing 🤦🏻♀️
Brush your teeth after meals
Man, historical events in D&D sound more interesting than any current modules and campaigns in 5e.
They’ve had decades and many different writers to build up not only a single planet but an entire multiverse of stories. But 5E seems like it wants to bring things in without too much context or explanation which is a shame. You’d never know all this cool stuff if it weren’t for reading older editions or awesome lore video channels like MrRhexx, AJpicket, Jordanphan, etc.
Well, there is that most of published adventures in D&D are about preserving the status quo, and they don't really allow Players doing things like defeating big bad immortal demon lord permanently. Like sure, there are lot of campaigns where Tiamat gets banished for hundred of years until next campaign comes out and previous ones never apparently happened because Tiamat would be less scary if she was defeated once per year.
The DM’s job is to make it more interesting, of course.
The BlackCoated Man no. I mean how is such a great, grand, epic story any better then yet ANOTHER module for Strahd
@@sanddry738 that's why I'm skeptical about 5E. I mean I want to play, I even have the player's handbook and Mordenkainen's Tome(and the monster manual of course!) but I find the lore and the variety of class lore/abilities/roleplay lackluster compared to more developed game rules systems.
Ironic that an anti-magic field would make them vulnerable to being charmed, because charm effects wouldn't be possible anyways!
Also Elves can still sleep like everyone else
Psionic charm would still be theoretically possible.
there are types of magic that can still be used without the weave, and sometimes i think the charm effect can be applied to none magical abilities as well.
Just last video they described a high magic spell elves have access to that lets them anti-magic an individual, so that everyone else can do magic but they cant. I suspect that might allow an elf to be charmed while anti-magic'd
Thruoght the whole Elven history: **Sad Drow noises**
(angry Drow noises intensify)
I wonder how elves reacted when Karsus Avatar maide a blackout on the weave
They got pretty pissed because Karsus's Avatar poisoned the weave, now elves can't do High Magic spells without major drawbacks.
@@MrRhexx wow intresting consequences! Thanks a lot for this reply and the videos!
I look forward for the next one!
@@MrRhexx I thought they wouldn't be able to do High Magic because Mystra said "Fuck that, no more reality changing magic"
@Bob Bob And you are lacking in proper reading skills. I meant that I thought High Elven Magic would be less effective because of the limitations Mystra placed rather than Karsus touching the Weave in a bad place.
@Bob Bob Read MrRhexx response: [quote]They got pretty pissed because Karsus's Avatar poisoned the weave, now elves can't do High Magic spells without major drawbacks.[/quote].
... *Anti-magic bomb* ...
*Magical Power Outage*
Everyone: ... ... ...
Literally every Elf: oh LAAAWWWDD!!!
is that we lost all ze magick
So if elves have suck a high dependence on the weave how did the 100 years the broken weave effect them. Especially newly born elves. I would think that it would effect there reverie.
Oh man the implications that would have now that you mentioned it
Imagine sucking straight from the weave!!!!
Like some unabashed unquenchable magic consuming Elven vampire!
I thought the weave was only broken for 10 years?
So, thats why elves con not see through magical darkness. It's just a blob of magic that shines over all over energy of the weave
Mystril doesnt control elven magic Correllian does so directly.
I'm sure it might get there but with all the elven lore, kind of wondering how it affects half-elves. Can they see the weave, do they have reverie so on and so forth.
They sleep, dont trance, so no visions
Half elves gotta go on Joe Rogan and get DMT to do all that.
@@draxthemsklonst lmfaooo
Basically all half-elves are >50% of the non-elf parent. This simply means use the other parent's lore with elven augmentation. (I.E. Half - elves use the human side for soul lore as only elves are allowed to reincarnate and only with true elf lineage.)
We do curious on this. Will they share some human or elf anatomy ?
I constantly come back to your videos to inform the underlying lore of my campaigns, allowing me to focus on the complexity of the "now" for the characters' stories, and providing a much more complete experience for my players.
This series is an INCREDIBLE tool, and I can't qualify their value to me and my tables. Thank you.
I'm so happy you covered Eilistraee. She is one of my favorite goddesses in the whole D&D pantheon. I hope at some point you talk about the different gods and eventually get to go more in depth with her.
@Bob Bob Eilistraee hs absolutely no Mary Sue traits--she's got no special skills or whatever compared to the rest of the deities, and she never got any victory for free (in fact, she's always struggled and still does). She's pretty much the underdog, except she doesn't magically win the day with the power of plot armor and coolness.
@Bob Bob Lol. She has a whole culture behind her, and her culture even predates Lolth's on Toril (Miyeritar). Also, please realize that a race not being a monoculture is far different from being a special snoflake. Monocultures are lazy, trash-tier worldbuilding that do nothing but hold the D&D narrative back, and one of the reasons why D&D stories are generally regarded as third class in the fantasy genre. They make absolutely 0 sense, since people who develop in different places and communites (like the drow) are bound to form different cultures.
>However those players who play good hearted drow are the worst.
We're in 2020; narrative is going forward and leaving outdate shit behind, for better stories. It's what happens when a genre evolves, rather than staying perpetually bound to objectively bad constructes, like monocultures.
My favorite D&D Deity is, The Raven Queen. But I also like almost any Chaotic Neutral Deity:)
Surface Elves: A filthy traitor drow dares intrude on our home!? Die!
"Androgynous" drow: *[flips up their skirt]*
Surface Elves: Oh, I see. Call it off everyone, we're good!
TFW Elves treat their gender fluid brothers better than any human does.
@@Lukos0036 i can honestly say i am both human, and have not tried to kill any andros. also its just surface elves... drow still are dicks
@@Lukos0036 Humans don't normally form bands of hunting parties to kill traps.
@@supremecaffeine2633 that actually does happen unfortunately.
@@supremecaffeine2633 Also, don't call trans folks traps. Not only is it offensive and ludicrous when you know the origin, it's a term and idea that's gotten more than a few trans folks killed or hurt pretty severely.
This whole thing with the Elves' anatomy made me interested in how Half-Elves work, or more accurately, how different they are from both their human and elven parent. Is there a video on them in the planning?
in most dnd mediums i have seen they look human but more fair. tend to be slender, beautiful or handsome. with enough human twist to not pass as true elves. perhaps more freckles or less pointed ears or a more rugged chin or a bulkier build etc. they have a human soul and dont get reincarnated into another elf. they do take on racial abilites such as seeing in the dark but not so sure on magical racial abilities.
What happens when a half-elf and a full-blooded elf have a child? Can that child reincarnate? If not, what happens when that child (¾-elf) and another full elf have a child, now a ⅞-elf - does that child reincarnate?
@@joshduhman2029 Sorry, didn't see this when you posted it. But I wanted to say I find the soul part very interesting as a determiner for why they're more human than elven, and I hadn't considered that in the past. Souls are, after all, very important in D&D.
@@SMiki55 a half elf and a full blooded elf will produce a elf that is almost indistinguishable from full blooded elves but its unclear if they regain the trance edit: there is a 1/4 chance of two half elves to produce offspring that can enter the trance which i could then assume a more elf soul. From what I read; trance = reverie of arvandor. If you have past lives and memories of arvandor that means correllon walked your soul to the new body which means your still in the reincarnation cycle.
@@joshduhman2029 thank you!
I've been watching your stuff for sometime now and binging all the D&D content for the last couple of days. I never had the chance to play D&D with friends, just read a ton of the books and played some of the PC games. There's something nostalgic about hearing you tell all this lore, like my inner child has finally found that place that I always wanted to be. Y con amigos con quien disfrutarlo tambien! I watched your most recent Elvish video and thinking that I consumed all the content, feeling kinda empty and guilty I headed over to Patreon but was suddenly distracted and then afterwards came back to RUclips and refreshed the tab. It brought me right back here to my surprise and elation to yet another video just uploaded! Mr.Rhexx, mad love I am now officially your 80th patreon supporter. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to that I truly enjoy. Be well!
I must say you are indeed missing out on something really big by not playing dnd, i must insist you play at least once before death
These D&d class lessons are the best part of my day
You forgot about the spelljamming elven fleets, the most successful elven empire since they span across the multi-verse.
You mean craftworlds? I'm kidding.
@@draxthemsklonst Guilliman says aeldari girlfriends are ok.
I hope we get to learn about the Shadar Kai soon! There are some major changes from pre 5e, to recently, and it's all a bit confusing.
15:27
Metal in your armor blocks spell casting?
I thought that the spell check penalty came from the armor's mobility limitation (which also limits dexterity) for the *somatic component* of the spell, thus the chance for having spell failure, because the caster didn't move their body correctly during casting.
I recall that still spell (casting a spell without somatic component) allowed casters to cast without armor penalty when casting arcane magic (for some reason divine magic ignores armor check penalty).
LifeLikeSage 2nd edition was more definite about not being able to use metal armor while casting. Newer editions use the armor check penalty to allow a sliding scale.
Not in early editions armour had a arcane spell failure chance
That's odd, how do the elves rely so much on the weave when the Feylords seem to do things irregardless of the weave's limitations.
No wonder Hugo Weaving is Elrond and Agent Smith. He can see the weave's code. Are elves = agents? This is all head canon to me.
... It's my headcanon too, as of this moment.
*Ding* well, it is now...
The ring must be destroyed!... Mr Anderson
"note taking intensifies"
Lol, I literally took two pages of notes to help role-play my new elf character.
incredible how Elfs love their connections yet they all killed each other... so we're not so different...
*arms wide open and greets the elves into human society*
@@neenm4299 more like arms pointing at each other and then also at the Elfs.
I've never played D&D and I've always wanted to make a drider PC, but it'd be tricky to make a PC out of an evil elf that's tranformed into a monster. I've fantasized how I could make a plausible backstory for a neutral good one. Maybe she was a powerful sorceress / wizard, but failed her trial to become one of Lolth's priestesses by refusing to kill her kind-hearted but weak brother and was cursed to wonder as a drider in the underdark until she helps out a group of adventurers. Perhaps she makes a silk rope to get them out of a pit or drops from the ceiling onto an enemy that was about to kill someone.
She could polymorph herself to enter town without creating a panic or serve as a mount for smaller party members while in the wilderness. I picture her making silk scarves for everyone or patching clothing with her spinnerets. Basically, a very sweet person who was raised in a harsh culture and forced into a monstrous form, but never lost her empathy. Kind of sounds like an interesting backup character to show up and replace a PC that dies while in the underdark.
Wow, that sounds good.
Should not be to hard to fix as long as you are not attached to the existing drow racial traits, since they might get in the way but yeah an sweet kind female drider might not be the Most original concept, it has been done before, but it shure is fun
I've got so many ideas on how to introduce the character. I could be casually hanging upside down in a tunnel where my head is at eye level and the ranger rounds a corner and stumbles across me and yells in surprise and I scream back. The party runs up and the fighter says "what's the problem?!" and I point at the ranger and say "He yelled at me! It was *terrifying* !" Then I start crying into my hair because I'm still upside down.
@@osmium6832 that. Sounds. Adorable. But also like too hard to do without making it a clunky scripted event
It's possible to make a drider that's good aligned. You could have it to where the character was wondering the underdark aimlessly. Starving, on the verge of death, until *insert person/people here* saved you. Taking you back to their home, and treating you. Though it was a long process, they helped you turn your ways, and taught you good morals.
So in truth they actually have told "you" all about the elven empires, people just don't own or read those books. So thank you for consolidating and explaining the information to those unaware or uninitiated with the Faerun lore. My personal favorite Elfs are that of Dark Sun. Now they are some interesting peoples.
Legend speaks that they reunite at the yearly *Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade* to mock us, humans.
Wait what?
@@defensivekobra3873 Yes, they are certainly no Santa helpers... Sorry to break it to ya.
@@geoleo965 ???????
I've heard of the american holliday of thanksgiving, the last frontier holding christmas at bay where you eat turkey and stuff, but dafuck this festival you speak of, and why should dnd elves unite there?
I simply do not get the reference/ joke
@@defensivekobra3873 Think of Murica and humanity's decadence with consumerism, that should suffice.
@@defensivekobra3873 It's a giant parade usually held in New York with tons of floats and giant balloons of characters and mascots from movies or companies and everyone gathers there and have a fun time. I haven't had cable in years and live across the coast, so that's as far as I know goes on.
Forgot: the joke was about Santa's elves being there, but replaced by DnD Elves.
I'm planning on playing a drow in our current campaign and I always enjoy learning the history of a race with MrRhexx before playing them. Thanks!
I wonder, if elves can see in darkness due to the way the weave interacts with creatures and objects, would they not be able to see the weave interacting with invisible creatures?
It's a good idea for a more personal boon in a campaign!
I wonder if this means that a pane of transparent glass would appear to be completely opaque to an elf in the dark then.
if they use magic to become invisible no, they just see how the weave affects physical objects and compare it to there normal sight so transparent glass would still be seen as transparent in the darknes
@Riccardo Cacchioli lmao , they just use the weave as a substitute for light
well thay said that elfs there dark vision is trainable
Love your content man discovered you about yesterday and I've gone through more than half your dnd videos already
I love your explanation of Elvish dark vision here & a lot of this is a learned skill based on a adaptive ability.
You really put things people haven't really heard about.
Elves enjoy refined hobbies such as archery, high magic, and "Crown" wars against the Green Elves.
I bet Corellon is responsible for all this elfin self-loathing and chaotic infighting.
One thing I was curious about. In the Player's Handbook, it talks about the various skin colors common in elves. I can't help but notice that, well, I never see this in even the official art. I guess it is somewhat explained by that fact that elves, in general, are often imagined having skin similar to ours. But it still seems odd that, in the sourcebook, elves seem to be described with a ton of different possible skin colors, yet I hardly ever see any of these more exotic colors.
Your narrative is like a whole episode of a sped up adventure.Beautiful use of pictures.You might have been a bard in another life time.
I am flabbergasted that people actually downvote your videos. It is obvious that you invest so much time exhuming this lore for us. Thank you.
About the Crown Wars, the dark elves made a lot of madness (making ALL other elves go against them)... But people who mention the Wars don't explain much about how SUN elves started this, made almost the same level of chaos of drow, and lots of them insist to keep a frail memory of ALL this part of history! Aryvandaar was no joke as an Empire, and Malkizid kept his covered influence pretty well.
So the green elf's where just gitting kicked in the teeth over and over
And omg I cant wait for your videos of the other races like halflings, kenders, and halforcs, I love your d&d videos and cant get enuf
Elves rock! Also nice mtg art pieces lol.
they have the best art :D
they really do.
@@MrRhexx I noticed at least one Warhammer 2 Total War picture in there too.
when are you going more in depth on the drow? you keep toutching on them and then moving off to explain the surface elves alone.
I loved the thought of that thought at the end there would be a plot to a whole storyline.
As a DM, these videos are super useful, entertaining, and inspiring. I'm tweaking the Forgotten Realms Crown of Horns campaign for my players and these videos are helping flesh out the back story involving Lolth and drows. I can't wait to reveal some of this to my players
This is more about Elves than their empires.
Yeah... Not that I'm complaining.
These videos on elves are fucking amazing bc I was literally trying to do research on dark elves and kept getting confused but this lays it all out so neatly I love it
Nothing better then watching your vids at 2 am while laying in bed on a cold almost christmas night, I'm gonna be sad when you leave yt man
yo dude you have no idea how much youve inspired me to play dnd and how much your videos have made me want to DM a campaign! youve also made me love dragons, especially pseudodragons. thank you so much!
I love your videos. They're great to fall asleep to, great to listen to when I'm writing, and so intricate. Thank you, sir.
4:20 worshipers of Eilistrae go to the elven afterlife like other races of elves. The goddess has a small realm of control both in the same place as Lolth and other underdark gods, as well as a primary domain in the realm of the elven gods. The secondary realm is so Eilistrae still has a connection to her underdark followers.
I'm completely new to D&D and your videos are really helping.
do, what they don't tell you about Tieflings
Yes!
Gods after the crown wars: I LEFT YOU ALONE FOR FIVE MINUTES!
Oh man, I'd love to learn more of Eladrin. I feel like I don't know anything about them even though its my characters race😂
I do enjoy this, I never got into D&D as a kid, but got hooked on Warhammer instead, but the Drow has fascinated me for a long time.
Woo! More high magic!!!
Edit: ok, I guess that's the next video XD
With all these elf lore videos coming down the pipe, it would be cool to get one on Drizzt, and elves like him, since the seem to break the mold for all of elf society.
I love that Elves have cannon futanari.
That is true 😂
And it's awesome
These lore drops are amazing! Thank you so much! 💕
4:00 - Except for YOU, Drizzt. Even among the good drow pantheon they'd rather leave you for a human deity...
When you started speaking about elves in a way sharing their thoughts, my first impression was "So they are like Protoss from Starcraft"
ive just realised you sound like the guy from arrested development, the funny jealous older brother. great video as always.
A simple request. Dwarves or Orcs. They are common, but such ancient races with lots of lore. If you already did either, I some how missed it, but these would be my favorite to hear more about from you!
This is perfect. I was looking for a god/goddess for my good Drow cultist to worship. Basically she's a life cleric with a criminal background.
Glad to see you have found the light of the moon goddess, protector of all good drow. Seriously though she is one of my favorites in the entire pantheon, it's a shame she isnt more well known. Only those who take the time to look often find her, but many in game and out simply assume all drow are evil. I think it's quite unique that the lore mirrors real life in that way.
@@Maid_of_Spiders I actually like it that she isn't well known. It will give my character mystery and can lead to a lot of drama. Who's this mysterious drow woman? She runs and underground criminal organization in a drow city? She's a cultist? Then you find out she's actually good and tries to help the downtrodden and enslaved of Drow society.
@@GallowglassAxe that's a good point. I also think it's cool that out of game mirrors in game. Most people assume all drow are evil by default and because she isnt as well known its often a shock when both players and characters find out she exists.
If possible can u give an estimate time for your next video? I don't play dnd but these videos are so well done and informative. It's like mini stories I can't get enough of.
My next one is already finished and scheduled for release Monday at 1pm EST. After that i believe i should have the one after that done by Wednesday (hopefully).
@@MrRhexx I appreciate it.
Thank you Mr Rhexx for all the info you bring us:D
here i was thinking i understand the elves connected minds, but than you said it's like the warmth of a loved one's hug, so i guess i dont know nothing
I listened to one video, and immediately knew i needed to subscribe.
Elves: the only group of people who damn an ENTIRE RACE but still are seen as lovely people
Hypocrisy? Maybe. Double standards definitely. XD
@@patrickdees5256 maybe we should just... let the orcs do their thing?
@@thepurehealer1279 maybe. Depends on if their thing is burning down my home.
@@patrickdees5256 ... you an elf?
@@thepurehealer1279 whaaaaat?! Nooo... hehe why would you say that? *covers pointed ears*
Minor correction, but important one:
Drow society is based first on class and second on gender. It just so happens that all the highest positions are exclusively for females. That being the priestess of Lolth. But this does not mean that any man has to obey any woman in drow society. The Archmage of menzeborranzan for example is not likely to bow and obey the female drow shopkeeper or guard. Nor is a noble born male warrior likely to obey a shopkeeper either.
Drow society is stratified by caste first and gender second, but whenever someone is within the same caste the female always ranks above the male.
Thanks for your videos, man. It's added way more depth to my campaigns
waiting for the shadar-kai differeces
love your videos btw
Hi, I really enjoy your videos! Though, a question on elves and the anti-magi field. You said they would go crazy in an anti magic field, so what happened to the Elves when magic disappeared due to the the 12th level spell being cast (Karsus' Avatar), there must have been a lot of mad elves and a bunch of stories there. I imagine, that they can't cast high level spells anymore either, but why? How does this affect their relationship with the humans? Did the Elves try to get their magic back?
Do elf souls always become the same kind of elf? Like, if a moon elf dies, can they be a sun elf in their next life?
"Community Thought-Hug" Brilliant
I don't know how much more info there is, but a video dedicated to Drow could be cool.
I wonder how the elves of the Underdark would have survived during the Time of Troubles. No Arcane or Divine magic, no dark vision. It's astounding that such a chaotic place did not plummet into total anarchy.
If you want to know the answer, read "Siege of Darkness". Lolth herself walks the streets of the city of the drow. The third house, full of psionics, plans to usurp the city. Even demons are significantly weakened.
It fills the matrons with terror and each of them retreats to their houses, unsure of what to do. They sacrifice males and even females with reckless abandon, hoping to please Lolth. *they do not know it is happening elsewhere*, they believe they have displeased the spider queen and she has abandoned the Drow.
I appreciate all your videos and hope the best for you!!
Do you think you'll make a WTDTY for vampires at some point?
I mean there is a lot they can do
@@defensivekobra3873 I'm more interested in how they came to be. "Who made the first vampire and why?" and stuff like that.
@@classyface1989 according to the 5e monster manual, straad got horny once and now they exist, 3.5e dissagrees, who knows?
Watch his old Succubus video in the meantime. Not much in Vampires yet, I'd very much be interested in that too. But that video does explain the origins of the original Vampires.
Who could have thought that Elves ALSO had a giant empire? Is it any race who hasn't had one, amiright?
The kobolds didn’t, at least in official lore as far as I know. But my favourite homebrewed society is a big kobold war band called the Cobalt Kobolds that rampage across the land, destroying anything they come across and they all wear cobalt platemail. My current character (a gnome) had his village destroyed and he barely escaped with his life.
A lot of them have but I'm not sure if I've ever heard of the Grand Halfling Imperium.
@MrRhexx Gotta say I have been watching your videos a while and I love the content you've been putting out, sorry I haven't subscribed till now but I do plan to keep watching your channel. Keep up the Lore content and the information and such on the Lore of Skyrim and D&D loving it.
You know, there's so much MtG art in these videos I'm really amazed they're monetized.
So with these last 2 videos on the elvish races, my question is how did the sea elves come to be? They have always been my favorite & I've always wondered their origins.
Given that the elves started as formless shifters, like Corellon, being born androgynous (in 5e) basically means an elf can change their sex at will. Thus this is seen, in elven culture, as a direct blessing of Corellon. Hence, you're the coolest if you can do that in most elven societies. Except the Drow, because the Matriarchy does not like some lowly little weak male suddenly deciding he wants to be a big swoll female and become a rival matriarch instead of a servant. Shit like that could upend all of Drow society, because the men start getting ideas that they can be in charge and Lloth will have none of that shit. Thus the baby boy/girl suddenly changing their sex to become a baby girl/boy (or anything inbetween) gets to be spider food, unless they can be hidden long enough to escape Drow society.
I mean, in D&D you can pretty much change your sex at will once you can cast Alter Self (2nd level arcane spell), so I don't see it being such a big deal among arcane magic users. More like an odd quirk, unless you happen to be among elves who realize what a big freaking deal being blessed by their grumpy creator is. Like "this person almost got to say in heaven, they must have been so goddamn elf in their last life!". The elfiest of elves? Elviest? Most elven? Most elvish? Let's just go with "born to do something important". :P
'They must have been so goddamn elf in their last life!'
That is an incredible line.
That was a change I never liked was that from Tolkien's Dark Elves...
They were just the elves who didn't know life under the two great trees in Valinor....
"Dark" held no description whatsoever in regards to Good/Evil....
That is far more interesting to me...
Why you're on elves (though it wouldn't technically count as high magic) I would love one on their towns villages and camp from the different sub races, their pets and mounts like the elven cat or the dog( cant remember the spelling) koshie, their elegant artful weapons and weapon styles like bladesinging
Earlier editions, elves had low light vision, only drows had darkvision
how could the wild elves forget anything about their culture/magic/etc if they have memories of their past lives during the trance
Really loving this series!
Dark Elves aka green elves made a treaty with dragon and formed Ilythiri. The avariel didn't just survive as Vagabond some went north to Great Glacier . They helped first moon Elves and Sun elves survive . They destroyed themselves in Feywild and had to leave .
Could you help me recap from the top? Do you know more?
I never found the 'pseudoscience' of the 'gland' to be a sufficient explanation for elven resistance to sleep and charm. I get that it is in the published material, but I never felt a need to try to find a way to include all published material as gospel just because it was published. I think it is a bit unneeded, if not lazy , to try and relegate the difference of elves any other race to a single magical gland. I've always explained their resistance to sleep and charm magic to my players as coming from elven reverie itself. With so much self-knowledge and self-awareness - an 'illusion' in the form of a spell telling them 'you are tired' or 'you see this thing over there' would just be less successful, because the knowledge and awareness they have is so deep that 'faking' these things with a spell is something they almost instantly notice.
and they are quit perseptif on details right mayby the link with the waeve shows up if magic thus charm and sleep doesnt work
So, most elves must have gone crazy during the Spellplague?...
Elves have always been immune to sleep and charm. Once Upon a Time they were immune to lycanthropy
So, how crazy did the elves went during Krasus' Folly, or the Spellplague?
As a human, at least I hope I'm human, I can't understand how an Elf can stand being constantly bombarded by other Elven thoughts or emotions or how anyone can just read your thoughts like an open book.
What if I had a really bad secret I needed to keep? What if, and I know it's weird for an elf to do this but, I was trying to become a Lich? How am I supposed to hide that thought/memory from others?
What do you mean you hope you are human
So early! video only two minutes ago!
Also more Elves! Thanks for the video.
*Spell plauge happens*
Elves "I got to get out of here"
Androgynous is not dated, is a perfect word to describe someone who looks male-like and differentiate it from the usual feminine look adopted through all of the same specie.
You don't worry.
I was curious if I could find out something. Why exactly is the word "androgynous" used? Doesn't that mean "male-like"? I would have thought the word used would be something less, well, gendered.
@@bigmonkey1254 yes, but all depictions looks more make like than femenine
@@dland6616 Yeah, I noticed that. I meant in general, not just with elves though.
I know its too popular but i want to hear tiefling lore, cant wait
You gonna do one of the other core player races? You gave so much insight on their culture and now I want to know if there is intricate lore for the other races too.
9:50 "Why were you late for elf practice?"
Love the video! Thanks for all the ideas for writing and playing. I had a question: In the previous video, you mentioned the Lythari Elves. Is there going to be more about them, and how they fit in with the rest of Elven Culture? There is so little lore I can find and since you are so thorough in your research, you could find more that I could not. Thanks and have a great day!
Best series so far!
I would love to see what you can tell us about all the other playable races
He has done a great job on the Dragonborn.