I really like how they're giving us supplements from the perspectives of their characters. It really helps their new mechanics feel flavorful and exciting, as opposed to removed and dry.
I don't think we are going to get any new official settings at any point in the near future. Not for a long while. They have narrowed thee focus super tight!
Sold! I was actually not that interested when I first heard about the book, but now I'm thinking it is exactly what I will need once my current campaign gets past level 5 and finishes the current arc. Really appreciated this interview
Well I learned that I've been saying Mordenkainen wrong at the very least. More stat blocks are great plus more lore to pull from before I throw about 95% of it away
Level 10 is the old Name Level, when you used to get followers and towers and keeps and such. Glad to see the decision to give more stuff for this area!
I for one really hope the Drow lore is expanded. I don't think they need to be "Just Misunderstood" but maybe just complex enough so that they're not all 99% malicious evil. With exceptions to the super special chosen one snowflakes who turn out to be good.
?? So you say they need to be more complex than 99% malicious evil, but refer to the good ones as super special chosen ones, which is it? Are you trying to say you want to see them in their various levels of scheming and plotting, the multiple shades of dark and grey? It's hard to tell where you're going here,
I do, but this is more about articulating and his point is being all jumbled up by phrasing it like that. We need more Jarlaxles in out there, fewer Drizzts. Most drow should be straight up evil with fringe groups I would imagine to be more neutral, pay for hire types. Read the War of the Spider Queen for super fringe groups that might, might be considered good. Player characters are the always the exception, because what is a hero but an exception.
Drow culture is an example why Matriarchies and Theocracies do not work. They are literally killing each other for Goddess that does not even like them, and laughs at their futile attempts to gain her favor. Read War of the Spider Queen. The very beginning has Lolth essentially laughing at the thought of the destruction of the Drow when she decides to temporarily leave them to gain power.
Sorry, I guess I mean that almost ALL of the drow (with the exception of Drizzt and maybe a few others) tend to be pure unadulterated saturday morning cartoon evil. I'm saying I'd like this book to maybe expand on their shades of grey as you said.
It will be great once it comes out, and they get to read it analyze it and put a video out for it. Hopefully it is good enough for them lol. I'll be sitting here waiting for my new Characters that I could possibly play lol
"Reeally going back to the distant history of D&D" - Interesting fact, Mordenkainen in deep history wasn't about balance. That's something that happened to Mordenkainen after lorraine williams forcefully took over TSR away from Gary Gygax.
Hearing that this will have higher-level encounters couldn't make me happier. My campaign is about to reach top tier, and I'm finding it hard to make really interesting encounters that don't involve large numbers of creatures and bog down combat.
I'm currently writing a planar campaign, so this should help quite a bit. I was going to have to update stats from the 3.5 Manual of the Planes for a lot of encounters, though I'll probably still have to make some custom encounter tables. Hopefully there will be some more interesting content here or in the future regarding the planes (encounter ideas, maps of specific areas, etc.) and the deities themselves rather than just the creatures from those planes.
6:17 No, power does not _corrupt,_ power _reveals._ The reason why many people are revealed to be currupt or corruptible once they get power, is because most people are corrupt or corruptible.
Can't wait for this informative book filled with valuable lore book to be forever discontinued and replaced with something that only has the monster stats :D
Stats for Asmodeus and Tiamat? :D There are stats for the physical manifestations for the demon lords, so I'd like it if there were stats for the lord of the hells.
Edude117 Yeah see, I was never one for that mentality. I always think any entity (aside from maybe Eldritch horror stuff) should be able to be killed by any other entity of similar or greater power. This whole “he can’t be killed because he’s essentially Satan” is stupid and dull.
Outside of very specific situations they don't give stats to high level dieties anymore. Last time they had a book with God stats was 3.5. Though there have been outliers such as Tiamat.
Heathen Pride Well eldritch can technically be killed, the problem is you can't keep them dead (other then azathoth, but that's more cause he's outside reality, or is reality itself). I'd say if it was treated as a debuff fight, where you need X things to drop its stats and power like DS2 giant souls, but he'll just reform eventually. The problem with him being able to die is the immediate power vacuum that ensues.....
ImADogRuff As if what players normally do doesn’t create power vacuums. Killing monarchs, wiping out thieve’s guilds, killing the local dragon, etc. Killing a deity is really just higher scale, though I do agree Azmodeus dying would likely lead to Demons winning the Blood War, but hey, that’s just another plot hook.
Yes!! Gif buk now!! I wanted a planar based book. Hopefully, they took some ideas from Tome of Beasts and cranked up the difficulty of the monsters because as well. Following the Monster Manual's difficulty curve is not going to work to make challenging monsters.
CreakyRangerGaming there's a strong chance that if they're expanding the multiverse that a planscape adventure could be slated for this year as well. Hopefully one that goes beyond 10
MrBleachfreak247 Basically there's this theory going around that Pelor is/has another half in the God Zarus, the Lawful Evil God of Human Supremacy from 3.5e. Zarus was not a popular god and was lost to time, but the notion that he and Pelor is one in the same makes some sense since Pelor is a far more destructive (he has the Light Domain, so yeah...) and for humanity then most other good Gods.
Nicholas Art Indeed. Tied with Wee Jas for my favorite Greyhawk god. The idea that the god most people think is the greatest good god being an evil god in disguise is very interesting and sinister.
The Face zoom was a bit extensive but the info was good, wish they would actually go micro on stuff and give us maps of battlefields and stuff, this couldve been a cool box set
I dont want to tell you or your DM how to run your game but if you don’t slow down your leveling, your campaigns going to get really stale before too long. I recommend milestone leveling. Basically every time your party party completes an arc or a part of a longer arc you level up or if your character does something extremely smart/creative/badass you gain some percentage of a level so doing enough cool stuff can also grant levels. It essentially takes out any XP system which can be good as they can be confusing sometimes and it promotes creative play even more. Just some recommendations good luck in your campaign!
Not trying to be harsh, but you are citing your experience of not being in a campaign higher than level 10 as evidence of Mike being wrong about most campaigns not getting to level 10. It is flawed thinking from the very beginning. Getting to level 10 has a lot of hurdles both in-game and in real life. Even losing one player due to scheduling conflicts can make a campaign end. I've been lucky enough to have a consistent group of players, but that could easily change at any moment. Keeping that consistency for, possibly, more than the year it takes to get to level 10 is probably more of a hurdle than any dragon your group will encounter.
TheOuterLimits we've been playing maybe about a year and a half. We've been on a hiatus due to scheduling, but I think we have had about 12-15, four hour sessions.
The large majority of people who play D&D only play campaigns for a few months before the campaign falls apart for various real-life logistical reasons. Or player characters die and they decide to redo. So unfortunately it is rare to be in a disciplined group that reaches level 10+.
Lessons Learned It’s for economic reasons. In order to maximize brand name recognition they had to choose one setting. A setting that was stereotypically medieval fantasy (so no Eberron or Dark Sun), and one that started off semi-well known and liked (no Dragonlance). They decided FR over GH because for some reason I don’t understand a lot of the fan base actually hates Greyhawk. Plus I think they wanted a more “newbie friendly” setting, so the fleshed out FR was way more friendlier to GMs and Players than the info-sparse GH, which was purposely designed to have the GM determine the specifics and micro details of the world. While that gives more freedom, it’s also overwhelming to new GMs.
Late to the party here. I got the book when it first came out, and I have admittedly not read it through its entirety, focusing mainly one the chapter of elves. There are things I liked, and things I didn't. I like that they kept the genderfluidity of the Seldarine (Corellon in particular), so kudos for that. I also liked that elves springing from Corellon’s blood, while part of elven legends in previous editions, is more factual now. I liked that. It feels poetic. But there were some things that had me shaking my head, and feeling disappointed. Unreliable narrator approach or not, this book still contains lore facts, and I feel like there has been some drastic changes, even within the same edition. Elven reincarnation has existed through many of the editions, as elves are creatures of the natural world. But now it’s like, they spend time in Arvandor, and they are then reincarnated. For some elves, this has always been true, but Arvandor was also a final reward, a paradise to spend eternity. Now, in MToF, it’s being treated more like a temporary vacation home, because of what some of the primal elves did. This is just enough of a change to make me go, “huh?” And elves who don’t undergo Transcendence are barred from Arvandor, and the fate of their souls is unknown. What? What if they worshiped another deity, such as Silvanus or Mielikki (in Faerun)? Wouldn’t they go to the realm of the deity they worshiped in life. What bothered me the most however was the changes to the drow. Vhaeraun’s position is different (since when is he mute, and his followers serve as matron bodyguards?), and it is unknown what happens to drow souls. Indeed, it is treated like drow are suddenly soulless, not even going to Lolth. The souls of Eilistraeens go up in a burst of moonlight, but their exact fate is unknown. Why? Don’t souls go to their patron deity, or the deity they are most aligned with ideologically? I am mostly familiar with Faerun, so I am referring to Forgotten Realms lore here. MToF seems to be designed to give the elves of all the settings the same origin story, removing some unique history (even if, as hinted at in the video, there are variations). I don’t really understand this sudden lore change. But my main issue is as stated above. Sorry, I realize this was a long comment. I just wanted to share my thoughts. I'm a bit of a lore junkie, but these changes will probably matter less to others. They just bothered me, and some others I know.
There is a risk (however small it may be) this upcoming book may become a prescriptive, rather than descriptive, book of the fictional factions and cultures in D&D.
There are multiple points where Mike clarifies that he knows that there are exceptions and that the descriptions only outline the general or basic representation of the D&D universe. Also 5e is very good in letting DMs know that they have every right to tweak whatever aspect of the rules or lore they choose
I'm with you in this Dan. To me prescriptive tendencies were introduced no later than with the alignment section of the 5e PHB, which is a farce in my opinion. All in all I can only agree with the part concerning supernatural beings, like devils and angels (a Tanar'ri is exactly that because it is an embodiment of CE), but the rest of the section is completely at odds with Eberron. And we are getting more of that.
Half the creatures featured is CR 10 or higher according to Mearls. That is hardly end game. We only have one printed CR 30 monster in Tiamat in 5e so far as far as I am aware (from official sources).
Then the Tarrasque hasn't been used properly. The Tarrasque is essentially the ultimate Kaiju. If it isn't trampling a city that the characters care about in the mean time, it's not doing its job. But that's just my thoughts on the matter. A Tarrasque shouldn't be allowed to be a war of attrition, it should be be a race against the clock. Whereas most Ancient Dragons have their constantly recharging breath weapons that are mostly aimed at destroying a party of adventurers, the Tarrasque is built to destroy their home instead.
I'm just stating what's in the reference books. I personally would take a well-played Wyrm over nearly any other creature in D&D. To me, CR is based on the creature being played to his abilities. A poorly played demi-lich can be less deadly than a very well-played beholder.
The high levels were always ripe for individualization on the part of DMs, making their worlds feel different from the cookie cutter campaigns. This is likely to turn more campaigns into clones... I REALLY hope in contains at least a few paragraphs re-informing DMs that there isn't one way to run a game or create a setting. I recently encountered a group of adult player that thought that homebrew campaign worlds (like mine which was started before they were born) were not really D&D because they didn't fit the mold of the pre-canned version of the Forgotten Realms. He keeps saying "their history" - but really he means "a possible history" - and it confuses people who don't have the long view of how we got here.
I'll reserve my overall judgment as it's only day one, but this feels very.... all over the place. Almost as if this book has no clear focus. I look forward to learning more about it to say the least.
Nothing about my comment was petulant. Your's on the other hand, was very childish. Uninformed? Perhaps, which is why I said I would withhold my judgment. It's day one, and the information presented (especially to a newer player), is in fact a bit erratic. Not sure why you guys are berating me for having an opinion...
1. Very excited for this book, looks awesome! Very into elemental/celestial conflict. 2. I notice that basically every person I see in these videos is white and male. Do Wizards have any women and POC on staff? For that matter, will we ever get a book with a female narrator? Don’t give me wrong, the white male perspective is fine, and we admittedly have far more history of powerful and quirky male characters than female, but in 2018, why not do more to open up the bastion of nerddom to people of all genders and ethnicities?
WOC has a history of being a very progressive and equal opportunity. It just so happens that in the 80's and 90's that Nerd culture tended to be most prevalent in young white males and now they've pursued a career in this culture. This has very much changed over the last decade or so and I fully expect we will begin to see more diversity in the faces of WOC.
Once again, the emphasis is on demons and not dragons. Change the name of D&D to Dungeons and Demons, you know you want to. Oh hang on. That doesn't sell.
I really like how they're giving us supplements from the perspectives of their characters. It really helps their new mechanics feel flavorful and exciting, as opposed to removed and dry.
Steven Partridge i agree, im totally in love with the new direction of 5E as a whole. I hope it sticks around for a long time
Same.
They learned their lesson from 4th edition
I agree. Part of the fun of buying the book is reading through the lore. Without the lore, you might as well just sell and excel spreadsheet IMO
honestly, I would love to see a monster tome, a module, and a new player book (a la xanathars) every year. it would be amazing.
the Volo recipe is great I loved it
EXCITED
wanted Eberron tho
STILL EXCITED
Spelljammer or Dark Sun would have been welcome too. There's a LOT of ground for 5e to cover at this point.
I don't think we are going to get any new official settings at any point in the near future. Not for a long while. They have narrowed thee focus super tight!
Hopefully, we see some Inevitables.
It seems so likely as to be... what's the word... very likely?
Mike Olson I think the word your looking for is guaranteed?
Yes! That's it. Inevitables simply MUST happen at some point. Guaranteed!
Mike Olson it's indefinitely going to happen!
Dungeon Dad
FATHER JOE KNOWS US TO WELL!!!
Sold! I was actually not that interested when I first heard about the book, but now I'm thinking it is exactly what I will need once my current campaign gets past level 5 and finishes the current arc. Really appreciated this interview
So...
2017: monsters from levels 1-10
2018: levels from 10 to 20
2019: Epic levels?
Books like these make me hyped as a DM, but I'm still eagerly awaiting Artificer, Mystic, or Revised Ranger to be in a book! :D
Well I learned that I've been saying Mordenkainen wrong at the very least. More stat blocks are great plus more lore to pull from before I throw about 95% of it away
Level 10 is the old Name Level, when you used to get followers and towers and keeps and such. Glad to see the decision to give more stuff for this area!
I know it's not the spirit of the channel, but I really liked hearing the questions Todd asks!
I can't wait for this. Keep up the good work guys!!!
I really hope the celestial or astral dragon is in this book.
I for one really hope the Drow lore is expanded. I don't think they need to be "Just Misunderstood" but maybe just complex enough so that they're not all 99% malicious evil. With exceptions to the super special chosen one snowflakes who turn out to be good.
??
So you say they need to be more complex than 99% malicious evil, but refer to the good ones as super special chosen ones, which is it? Are you trying to say you want to see them in their various levels of scheming and plotting, the multiple shades of dark and grey? It's hard to tell where you're going here,
I do, but this is more about articulating and his point is being all jumbled up by phrasing it like that. We need more Jarlaxles in out there, fewer Drizzts. Most drow should be straight up evil with fringe groups I would imagine to be more neutral, pay for hire types. Read the War of the Spider Queen for super fringe groups that might, might be considered good. Player characters are the always the exception, because what is a hero but an exception.
Drow culture is an example why Matriarchies and Theocracies do not work. They are literally killing each other for Goddess that does not even like them, and laughs at their futile attempts to gain her favor. Read War of the Spider Queen. The very beginning has Lolth essentially laughing at the thought of the destruction of the Drow when she decides to temporarily leave them to gain power.
Sorry, I guess I mean that almost ALL of the drow (with the exception of Drizzt and maybe a few others) tend to be pure unadulterated saturday morning cartoon evil. I'm saying I'd like this book to maybe expand on their shades of grey as you said.
TheRazmereShow but that's literally the point of the drow. If you want to have something with more nuance, that's what homebrew is for.
I'm excited about this.
I wasn't really interested in this new book about the 'cosmic forces' of the D&D multi-verse...until I saw this interview. Thanks!
*sigh* I guess I'll get my wallet ready.
Yep we mist prepare for the long haul *$$$*
You sigh. I say: “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY‼️“ Either way, the money is going to be theirs. *I hear the echoes of evil laughter from Todd Kenrick.*
...well, it's nice to see Mk got out of Ravenloft sanity mostly intact.
@WebDM Jim? Pruitt? Finally making those high end monsters!
It will be great once it comes out, and they get to read it analyze it and put a video out for it. Hopefully it is good enough for them lol.
I'll be sitting here waiting for my new Characters that I could possibly play lol
We met Volo in the module I am playing in! My grave domain cleric actually got a book from him for free :D. Nat 20 from me nat 1 twice from Volo!
Are you playing Tomb of Annihilation? :D
Amalie Thorup Yep!
"Reeally going back to the distant history of D&D" - Interesting fact, Mordenkainen in deep history wasn't about balance. That's something that happened to Mordenkainen after lorraine williams forcefully took over TSR away from Gary Gygax.
Kudos!
Stoked to see Mordenkainen get a book. I hope Elminster gets a book that focuses on magic and dieties in the future.
This sounds pretty cool! I look forward to it's release!
Cannot wait! Volo's Guide and XGtE was so good, to get a book written by Mordenkainen is awesome.
Tome of Foes sounds amazing, but will it lead to Manual of the Planes?
Thatd be cool.
galvaton10000 just gimme so new races wizards! I'll even give you my damn home brew ones just get me something new. Githyanki at least
Or maybe a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy? B)
Hearing that this will have higher-level encounters couldn't make me happier. My campaign is about to reach top tier, and I'm finding it hard to make really interesting encounters that don't involve large numbers of creatures and bog down combat.
Sounds like my gaming bag is getting heavier soon
Nate ??? Sounds like you need a higher backpack mate... check on Amazon some of their cheap camping back packs are great for d&d bags
I'm currently writing a planar campaign, so this should help quite a bit. I was going to have to update stats from the 3.5 Manual of the Planes for a lot of encounters, though I'll probably still have to make some custom encounter tables. Hopefully there will be some more interesting content here or in the future regarding the planes (encounter ideas, maps of specific areas, etc.) and the deities themselves rather than just the creatures from those planes.
6:17 No, power does not _corrupt,_ power _reveals._
The reason why many people are revealed to be currupt or corruptible once they get power, is because most people are corrupt or corruptible.
Can't wait for this informative book filled with valuable lore book to be forever discontinued and replaced with something that only has the monster stats :D
It'd be cool if they brought back the shardminds in this book. They would fit really well into the theme.
Give us stats for iconic villains like Vecna and Tiamat
I love new monsters, I'd really like to see more lore about abier and the feywild
Really hoping I'm getting some 5e inévitables Mike. Ples
Murdy Kurdy!
MARFY KARFY
Mike Mearls, you had me at Gnomes and Halflings
These books are basically Dragonology+an RPG manual, but not aimed just for children. Which is awesome.
I have enjoyed the style of these books, but an increasing problem arising is "which book was that in again?"
Stats for Asmodeus and Tiamat? :D
There are stats for the physical manifestations for the demon lords, so I'd like it if there were stats for the lord of the hells.
Tiamat has stats. Asmodeus will never have stats because he’s pretty much unbeatable.
Edude117
Yeah see, I was never one for that mentality. I always think any entity (aside from maybe Eldritch horror stuff) should be able to be killed by any other entity of similar or greater power. This whole “he can’t be killed because he’s essentially Satan” is stupid and dull.
Outside of very specific situations they don't give stats to high level dieties anymore. Last time they had a book with God stats was 3.5. Though there have been outliers such as Tiamat.
Heathen Pride
Well eldritch can technically be killed, the problem is you can't keep them dead (other then azathoth, but that's more cause he's outside reality, or is reality itself). I'd say if it was treated as a debuff fight, where you need X things to drop its stats and power like DS2 giant souls, but he'll just reform eventually.
The problem with him being able to die is the immediate power vacuum that ensues.....
ImADogRuff
As if what players normally do doesn’t create power vacuums. Killing monarchs, wiping out thieve’s guilds, killing the local dragon, etc. Killing a deity is really just higher scale, though I do agree Azmodeus dying would likely lead to Demons winning the Blood War, but hey, that’s just another plot hook.
Neat, now gimme dat sweet artificer ;)
It's on DMs Guild with the Mystic
Not the same
I mean for DnD Beyond
Mac the Impaler not for adventures league it isn't
Yes!! Gif buk now!! I wanted a planar based book. Hopefully, they took some ideas from Tome of Beasts and cranked up the difficulty of the monsters because as well. Following the Monster Manual's difficulty curve is not going to work to make challenging monsters.
Looking forward to this, can we get a Dark Sun book next?
how about a book for a setting? we could use a vacation from the Realms.
CreakyRangerGaming there's a strong chance that if they're expanding the multiverse that a planscape adventure could be slated for this year as well. Hopefully one that goes beyond 10
Yeah I would hope that with a new book that has 50% of CR10+ monsters they can feed some of those into a new adventure.
CreakyRangerGaming give them till the summer. We're probably getting another stream
This book is Planescape in all but name.
s
sp
spe
spel
spell
spellj
spellja
spelljam
spelljamm
spelljamme
spelljammer
Mike has the most animated face I’ve ever seen.
Pelor the Burning Hatred confirmed?
Please
Pelor the what now?
MrBleachfreak247 Basically there's this theory going around that Pelor is/has another half in the God Zarus, the Lawful Evil God of Human Supremacy from 3.5e.
Zarus was not a popular god and was lost to time, but the notion that he and Pelor is one in the same makes some sense since Pelor is a far more destructive (he has the Light Domain, so yeah...) and for humanity then most other good Gods.
Sort of like the Imacculate Solar and the Ebony Dragon of exalted...
I'll see myself out.
Nicholas Art
Indeed. Tied with Wee Jas for my favorite Greyhawk god. The idea that the god most people think is the greatest good god being an evil god in disguise is very interesting and sinister.
I just want the challenge rating system to be at least somewhat fixed....
Normally its humans: *dark sun intensifies*
So it only offers lore and statistics for specific enemies? So it won't have stats for monstrous races like Xolo's did?
This books give us playable options for opposed characters. Do we finally get Werewolves and Vampires?
I wonder if we'll see playable races, if it is structured similarly to Volo's
When Mordenkainen wrote this tome, was it before he became mad and isolated himself in Barovia (5e), or after?
All this talk about cosmic stuff and the Blood Wars makes me hope there's a Planescape adventure in the works.
I'm still waiting for Eberron for 5e... This is good, don't get me wrong, but I'm really looking forward to the return of Eberron.
So, Mordenkainan is all for a never ending cosmic war.
Todd lost all his head-room oh no!
Please give us a greyhawk book
I like it. When does this bad boy come out?
Will there be new races???
tome of foes is pre-descent into avernus
PLEASE let it have Changelings as an official player race! I don't want them to remain only as an Unearthed Arcana. :(
*Shut up and take my money!*
Now, is that for the entire multiverse, or just the forgotten realms?
Interested to see some Mordenkainen level enemy's :D
The Face zoom was a bit extensive but the info was good, wish they would actually go micro on stuff and give us maps of battlefields and stuff, this couldve been a cool box set
Mistr Mearls stared straight into my soul
well this was not showing on my sub box, praise the bell!
Dark Sun...only want Dark Sun.
please dark sun! I played 4rd edition just to DM dark sun again!
Yes, stronger monsters!
Will the wemic finally be in it?
I always pronounced it Morden-KY-nen. as in KY-lo Ren
omi word! bladeling player race? PLEASE
I dunno, sounds like there won't be enough Lore Density and Rules Complexity.
Any playable races?
Blood War! Blood War! Blood War!
In hindsight ever since that gith video you've been hyping up this book. It worked.
Campaigns don't reach usually higher than level 10?
What? What campaigns do you run, Mike? I've just reached lvl7 and we're still on our first arc.
I dont want to tell you or your DM how to run your game but if you don’t slow down your leveling, your campaigns going to get really stale before too long. I recommend milestone leveling. Basically every time your party party completes an arc or a part of a longer arc you level up or if your character does something extremely smart/creative/badass you gain some percentage of a level so doing enough cool stuff can also grant levels. It essentially takes out any XP system which can be good as they can be confusing sometimes and it promotes creative play even more. Just some recommendations good luck in your campaign!
Most published adventures go past lvl 10.
Not trying to be harsh, but you are citing your experience of not being in a campaign higher than level 10 as evidence of Mike being wrong about most campaigns not getting to level 10. It is flawed thinking from the very beginning.
Getting to level 10 has a lot of hurdles both in-game and in real life. Even losing one player due to scheduling conflicts can make a campaign end. I've been lucky enough to have a consistent group of players, but that could easily change at any moment. Keeping that consistency for, possibly, more than the year it takes to get to level 10 is probably more of a hurdle than any dragon your group will encounter.
TheOuterLimits we've been playing maybe about a year and a half. We've been on a hiatus due to scheduling, but I think we have had about 12-15, four hour sessions.
The large majority of people who play D&D only play campaigns for a few months before the campaign falls apart for various real-life logistical reasons. Or player characters die and they decide to redo. So unfortunately it is rare to be in a disciplined group that reaches level 10+.
New Force Grey plz
Too bad this is not an actual Greyhawk book. Sad that everything is FR these days.
Lessons Learned
It’s for economic reasons. In order to maximize brand name recognition they had to choose one setting. A setting that was stereotypically medieval fantasy (so no Eberron or Dark Sun), and one that started off semi-well known and liked (no Dragonlance). They decided FR over GH because for some reason I don’t understand a lot of the fan base actually hates Greyhawk. Plus I think they wanted a more “newbie friendly” setting, so the fleshed out FR was way more friendlier to GMs and Players than the info-sparse GH, which was purposely designed to have the GM determine the specifics and micro details of the world. While that gives more freedom, it’s also overwhelming to new GMs.
Oh I know the reasons, but I would still like an expansion and recognition of these settings, even if it is in their website.
I WANT NEW PLAYER RACES SUCH AS GNOLLS!!!
Late to the party here. I got the book when it first came out, and I have admittedly not read it through its entirety, focusing mainly one the chapter of elves. There are things I liked, and things I didn't. I like that they kept the genderfluidity of the Seldarine (Corellon in particular), so kudos for that. I also liked that elves springing from Corellon’s blood, while part of elven legends in previous editions, is more factual now. I liked that. It feels poetic.
But there were some things that had me shaking my head, and feeling disappointed. Unreliable narrator approach or not, this book still contains lore facts, and I feel like there has been some drastic changes, even within the same edition. Elven reincarnation has existed through many of the editions, as elves are creatures of the natural world. But now it’s like, they spend time in Arvandor, and they are then reincarnated. For some elves, this has always been true, but Arvandor was also a final reward, a paradise to spend eternity. Now, in MToF, it’s being treated more like a temporary vacation home, because of what some of the primal elves did. This is just enough of a change to make me go, “huh?” And elves who don’t undergo Transcendence are barred from Arvandor, and the fate of their souls is unknown. What? What if they worshiped another deity, such as Silvanus or Mielikki (in Faerun)? Wouldn’t they go to the realm of the deity they worshiped in life.
What bothered me the most however was the changes to the drow. Vhaeraun’s position is different (since when is he mute, and his followers serve as matron bodyguards?), and it is unknown what happens to drow souls. Indeed, it is treated like drow are suddenly soulless, not even going to Lolth. The souls of Eilistraeens go up in a burst of moonlight, but their exact fate is unknown. Why? Don’t souls go to their patron deity, or the deity they are most aligned with ideologically? I am mostly familiar with Faerun, so I am referring to Forgotten Realms lore here. MToF seems to be designed to give the elves of all the settings the same origin story, removing some unique history (even if, as hinted at in the video, there are variations). I don’t really understand this sudden lore change. But my main issue is as stated above.
Sorry, I realize this was a long comment. I just wanted to share my thoughts.
I'm a bit of a lore junkie, but these changes will probably matter less to others. They just bothered me, and some others I know.
Is it just me or does todd kendrick look like Mordenkainen if he shaved his head.... just sayin...
Some obyrith would be cool
so this book is like a paladin
Travis Nilsson what
its a play on how he was talking about the new subclasses in XGTE
*cough* Eberron *cough*
Disappointing for those playing in established campaign settings (Eberron, Dark Sun, etc.). The lore is too specific!
Man, I’ve been saying the name wrong. Admittedly I’m a recent fan, I’ve always pronounced it as mor-din-kind
Learn something new every day I guess
same tho
So Mordenkainen is Batman.
Bryan Wheeler Actually...Dr. Strange. LOL
There is a risk (however small it may be) this upcoming book may become a prescriptive, rather than descriptive, book of the fictional factions and cultures in D&D.
There are multiple points where Mike clarifies that he knows that there are exceptions and that the descriptions only outline the general or basic representation of the D&D universe. Also 5e is very good in letting DMs know that they have every right to tweak whatever aspect of the rules or lore they choose
I'm with you in this Dan. To me prescriptive tendencies were introduced no later than with the alignment section of the 5e PHB, which is a farce in my opinion. All in all I can only agree with the part concerning supernatural beings, like devils and angels (a Tanar'ri is exactly that because it is an embodiment of CE), but the rest of the section is completely at odds with Eberron. And we are getting more of that.
MORE GOOD ALIGNED FEY PLZ
id like more than 3.....
Dang, I thought it was a book filled with end-game boss creatures.
Half the creatures featured is CR 10 or higher according to Mearls. That is hardly end game. We only have one printed CR 30 monster in Tiamat in 5e so far as far as I am aware (from official sources).
The Tarrasque is also CR 30. MM page 286
Sean Hallenbeck
The terrasqu isn’t a cr 30 threat. Honestly from real experience an ancient dragon is more deadly than a terrasque
Then the Tarrasque hasn't been used properly. The Tarrasque is essentially the ultimate Kaiju. If it isn't trampling a city that the characters care about in the mean time, it's not doing its job. But that's just my thoughts on the matter.
A Tarrasque shouldn't be allowed to be a war of attrition, it should be be a race against the clock.
Whereas most Ancient Dragons have their constantly recharging breath weapons that are mostly aimed at destroying a party of adventurers, the Tarrasque is built to destroy their home instead.
I'm just stating what's in the reference books. I personally would take a well-played Wyrm over nearly any other creature in D&D. To me, CR is based on the creature being played to his abilities. A poorly played demi-lich can be less deadly than a very well-played beholder.
That's some serious shallow depth of field. #bokeh
The high levels were always ripe for individualization on the part of DMs, making their worlds feel different from the cookie cutter campaigns. This is likely to turn more campaigns into clones... I REALLY hope in contains at least a few paragraphs re-informing DMs that there isn't one way to run a game or create a setting. I recently encountered a group of adult player that thought that homebrew campaign worlds (like mine which was started before they were born) were not really D&D because they didn't fit the mold of the pre-canned version of the Forgotten Realms. He keeps saying "their history" - but really he means "a possible history" - and it confuses people who don't have the long view of how we got here.
meh nothing i haven't read elsewhere.
God stats! GIMMI GOD STATS! 😅
I'll reserve my overall judgment as it's only day one, but this feels very.... all over the place. Almost as if this book has no clear focus. I look forward to learning more about it to say the least.
Its manual of the planes under a different name man. They've been making these books since 1987..........
Not everyone has played this game since 1987. Well done.
Did Xanathar' Guide to Everything seem too "all over the place" for you?
Ryan Couch Neither have I. I was merely highlighting the fact that your comment was not only uninformed, but petulant.
Nothing about my comment was petulant. Your's on the other hand, was very childish. Uninformed? Perhaps, which is why I said I would withhold my judgment. It's day one, and the information presented (especially to a newer player), is in fact a bit erratic. Not sure why you guys are berating me for having an opinion...
1. Very excited for this book, looks awesome! Very into elemental/celestial conflict.
2. I notice that basically every person I see in these videos is white and male. Do Wizards have any women and POC on staff? For that matter, will we ever get a book with a female narrator? Don’t give me wrong, the white male perspective is fine, and we admittedly have far more history of powerful and quirky male characters than female, but in 2018, why not do more to open up the bastion of nerddom to people of all genders and ethnicities?
Shawn Wesley Very good points, thanks for your input!
Ugh
Edude117 I hear you man. I appreciate your restraint!
Edude117 I agree.
WOC has a history of being a very progressive and equal opportunity. It just so happens that in the 80's and 90's that Nerd culture tended to be most prevalent in young white males and now they've pursued a career in this culture. This has very much changed over the last decade or so and I fully expect we will begin to see more diversity in the faces of WOC.
1/10 no playable giff race.
He has a grey hair sticking out of his left nostril hahaaa
Dragonborn subclasses? its a bit of 1 trick pony with breath and resistance. no rp or other optional racials
Once again, the emphasis is on demons and not dragons. Change the name of D&D to Dungeons and Demons, you know you want to. Oh hang on. That doesn't sell.
Shame they picked Mordenkainen, the alliteration of Bigby's Book of Baddies seems so obvious. lol