I'm okay with Tieflings because they were introduced in 2e Planescape and have been on Faerun since the 3e setting guide. But Dragonborns on the other hand feel like trying to shove a square peg down a round hole, imo.

Do you know anything about what actions Lolth priestesses usually perform during spells? Or maybe some kind of equivalent to making the sign of the cross (like crossing oneself) or something similar?

On one hand, we have Baldur's Gate 3 and it's portrayal of the Githyanki, where they are presented as mighty warriors capable of conquering entire worlds. Their combat prowess is glorified on multiple occasions throughout the game by different characters including Wyll, Gale and Shadowheart. Minthara - an experienced Lolth-sworn Drow Paladin - shits in her pants thinking Githyanki are about to claim Toril for themselves by the end of the game. The Emperor, backed up by the might of The Netherbrain - the strongest Elder Brain ever and a multiversal threat with the Crown of Karsus at it's disposal - is reluctant to go up against them due to their numbers. The Gith bosses we fight are some of the strongest enemies both mechanically and narratively - i mean, who in Act 1 is comparable to Ch'r'ai W'wargaz, one of Vlaakith's elite combatants who is stronger then Kith'raki, resides in her palace and is potent enough that your ability to actually best him impresses the Undying Queen, which she's not shy to admit?

It's also worth mentioning that their legendary Silver Swords were hyped quite a lot in Neverwinter Nights 2 from what i remember - specifically, they were capable of harming King of Shadows, the main antagonist of the game.

On the other hand, their DND stat blocks fookin' suck. I can't describe it in any other way. They are pathetic. The mightiest mortal warriors - the fookin' Space Marines of the setting - with unimaginable combat experience by hundreds, or thousands of years, with some of the best technology in existence, including illithid tech, have CR of 14 at best!

WTF?!

Now of course you lore eggheads would remind me that Vlaakith eats the most competent of them. But how in the fook is that an excuse? Is she an idiot to weaken her own Empire making it vulnerable and tempting to attack and destroy? Can't she eat her subordinates in a smart way, given her 30 INT stat? By the way, regarding her stat block - CR of 21, or 23 according to some sources? Are you kidding me? An immortal Lich who lives for who knows how long, with access to the greatest knowledge there is, with access to the technology of Illithids who had a multiverse-spanning empire at one point, is weaker than your fookin' Szass Tam?!

Overhyped via games lore, but suck balls when it comes to their DND stat blocks, to put it mildly.

The question is - how powerful is the Githyanki Empire, really? Multiverse-level? Planar-level? Fookin' regional? Are they all hype and no substance?

How good are they?

In 2008, Devil's Due published the graphic novel *Starless Night*, part of R.A. Salvatore's series. It was written by Andrew Dabb and illustrated by me, Juan Francisco Moyano.

Unfortunately, Devil's Due lost the rights and license to publish material from Dungeons & Dragons and the Forgotten Realms universe, and volumes 2 and 3 were never published.

I ended up with over 40 pencil-drawn pages that have never been published. Today I’m going to share one page here on this forum—specifically, a page from Volume 2 that was never published.

Enjoy it.

Hi people. I've been playing DnD for some time but it's my first time being the dm and I choose Rime of the Frostmaiden. After some research, I changed some things as said in the Eventyr Edition, especially three things: the winter is worsing; the auril's responsability is a rumour; and not all town are doing sacrifices yet.

We finished session 1, and i've been thinking about some things and decided to share to maybe get some help:

1. One of the pc is a monk, and she's inspired by the bene gesserit sisterhood in dune. we decided that she was in luskan in a mission to get information of the city politics, but was caught by the arcane brotherhood and used in a slaad ritual - giving her the slaad host secret. The slaad attacked the mages and she escaped in the chaos, ending in icewind dale. I told the players that they can't go back to luskan except by sea or by climbing the spine of the world. Now, she is trying to get in contact with her sisterhood by mail. I'm trying to create a fun way to incorporate the sisterhood to the story but nothing yet. I'm thinking, lore-wise, that it is an ancient branch of the chuch of shar. Do you guys have any ideas?

2. Another pc is an aasimar paladin, and i gave him the alagondar heir secret. we decided that he was a child when the dinasty fall, and was saved by a paladin sworn to his family, who raised him and sent him to icewind dale as a honor test, and he warned him that he would be watching. I think it would be fun to incorporate this situation to the story, both a neverember agent and a npc linked to his master. What you all think?

In both cases, i'm not sure if the best is create something totally new, or to mix with quests and npcs of the book.

Thanks, hope my english is enough.

Being not terribly fond of the Sammaster miniature that's currently available through WizKids, I tried my hand at making my own on HeroForge.

My question is whether, if you saw this mini placed before you upon a battle map, painted in these same colors, it would be swiftly recognizable as him? And if not, what changes might I make in order to more faithfully recreate him for my home campaign?

Thanks so very much ahead of time for your feedback.

Is someone who's faithless in the Forgotten Realms someone who doesn't worship any particular god but acknowledges their existence, or someone who does not think any of those gods exist? For example, if there was a dragonborn glory paladin who hadn't sworn their oath to any god and just instead vowed to be brave etc, are they going on the wall?

I've been reading up on Kelemvor/Afterlife stuff because im playing a kelemvor cleric, and I ran into something interesting. Apparently followers of Kelemvor and Jergal are given positions of authority in the City of Judgement, and that gives me a lot of questions. For one, who is in the city that needs authoritative presences? As far as I know all the faithless go to the wall, so is it just the false? Second of all, what exactly does position of authority mean? Are you a police offer and you're keeping the peace? Are you more like the national guard so Kelemvor can put the city under martial law when the False are causing problems? I'm very curious about it all.​​

As we all know, Ao has absolute control over Realmspace. Tharizdun exists in Realmspace as an aspect as a lesser deity.
However, his true form is imprisoned in a demiplane somewhere.
It took all the gods and primordinals to imprison Tharizdun.

Tharizdun's goal is to annihilate all of existence.
Obviously that must mean Realmspace.

So the question is: what if Tharizdun breaks free and heads over to Realmspace to destroy it?
Since Ao should have total control of everything inside his domain, would Realmspace be safe and Tharizun can do nothing?
Or since Ao can only control Realmspace, he can do nothing to stop Tharizdun since Tharizdun is a multiversal threat?

How does a Vengeance Pally determine what is sinful and what is not? Is there some sort of moral codex for such paladins?

Let's say a group of Kuo-Toa believe you to be their God, although you're just an everage adventurer.

Could these fish-dudes empower you with their faith even if you're in another Plane? Could they make you immune to spells simply by believing you are immune to them? Could they turn you into a demigod, or something greater, if there are thousands of them worshipping you?

What are the exact limits of what they can do with believing in shit? Does their believe work like Orcish Waaagh?

Take any info I have with a grain of salt, i'm not the most knowledgeable. I'm wondering if there's a line between the regular immortality most gods have, and greater immortality so to speak. Gods are very capable of dying, they're not really immortal. So which ones are? At first I thought Kelemvor, seeing as he's the god of death. But then I remembered that gods of death have died before. Myrkul's died like 3 times. That then led me to Jergal. He's the only god of death up to the current one who didn't die when he stopped being the god of death, and he clearly retained a large portion of his divinity. ​One of his names is "Lord of the End of Everything" and gods are included in everything. His job now is to keep records of the fate of ALL the dead, gods too. So I think he's got greater immortality, he's gonna be here until everybody else is gone. Then there's also Ao, kind of. Ao is the overgod, the​ god of all gods, he should be completely invincible and immortal. But if aspects of him, such as Asgorath, have died, is it possible he himself could too? And then there's the Luminous Being, who is actually very capable of death. The Luminous Being is the dungeon master, and humans are not only very mortal but very very vincible.

There is a very common misconception in the community regarding Tiamat's stat blocks in Rise of Tiamat and Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. Many players and DMs claim that these are merely stat blocks for her "avatar," because statting her true form would be impossible.

However, looking at the lore and the text, these absolutely represent her true form.

First, let's look at the premise of Rise of Tiamat. The entire module is built on the Cult of the Dragon trying to free Tiamat from her prison in the Nine Hells. If the ritual only summons an avatar out of Avernus, the logic of the entire campaign falls apart.

Rise of Tiamat, p7:

The time of dragons dawns. Calling upon ancient magic and a host of draconic allies, the Cult of the Dragon seeks to unleash Tiamat from her prison in the Nine Hells.

Furthermore, the good ending of the module isn't about thwarting her avatar's plans in Faerûn; it's about defeating her true form so severely that she discorporates and is banished back to her prison.

Rise of Tiamat, p174:

If the characters reduce Tiamat to 0 hit points, her Discorporation trait kicks in. The portal collapses as the shrieking Dragon Queen disintegrates and is dragged back to Avernus. She will remain trapped there until someone else can recreate the conditions of the ritual and try again to free her.

Whenever this is brought up, people usually push back with three main arguments. I want to address and debunk each of them.

-

Argument 1: "Tiamat was unkillable by players in older editions, so she shouldn't have a 5e stat block."

False. Outside of 2e, players have historically been able to fight and kill her.

• 1e: In The Throne of Bloodstone, players literally need blood from the heart of Tiamat to destroy the Wand of Orcus. Bahamut sends the party to the Nine Hells to kill her.
• 2e: This is the only exception, mainly because Faiths & Avatars (p. 14) established a rule that mortals could usually only destroy demigods, and Tiamat was a lesser deity at the time.
• 3e: She had at least two official stat blocks. One in Deities and Demigods (p. 93) with a Divine Rank of 10, and another in Manual of the Planes (p. 118) with a CR of 25.
• 4e: Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons (p. 246) explicitly provided three permanent ways to kill her:

DESTROYING TIAMAT
Only by meeting specific conditions can the characters hope to kill Tiamat. The following are sample quests.
Appeal to Avarice: An ancient treasure was lost in the Astral Sea while being transported in a githyanki ship. If the PCs can locate this cache of immaculate gems and rare metals, they can use Tiamat's greed to draw her out of her domain. They must trick her into entering a domain under the control of Bahamut, where she can be slain, or at least her discorporated essence can be trapped.
Draconic Weapons: The PCs must kill five ancient dragons, each of a different chromatic variety, then craft magic items from their bones or scales. Only if they are wearing or using these items can they destroy Tiamat. At least one of the ancient dragons killed for this purpose must be a past or present consort of Tiamat.
Gather Tiamat's Eggs: One hoary old tome printed on basalt pages and bound in purple dragon scales describes a ritual called Fashioning Tiamat's True Death. This ritual's intricate recipe includes procuring at least one of Tiamat's eggs, in which a newly forged weapon must be quenched. Multiple weapons require multiple eggs. If the weapon is used against Tiamat and draws blood at least once, the god's essence is destroyed, not discorporated.

Since 5e caps its power scaling at CR 30, assigning her true form a CR 30 stat block is entirely consistent with D&D history.

-

Argument 2: "Tiamat is a Greater Deity on par with Mystra, so statting her is ridiculous."

False. Tiamat is not, and has almost never been, a Greater Deity. She is canonically a Lesser Deity across multiple editions:

• 2e: Cult of the Dragon, p.121
• 3e: Draconomicon: The Book of Dragons, p.35
• 4e: Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, p.62 (Note: 3e's lesser deity equals 4e's god, per FRPG p.153).
• 5e: Monster Manual (2014), p.86

Some might argue, "But Takhisis from Dragonlance is Tiamat, and Takhisis is a Greater Deity!"

Even if we accept Takhisis as an aspect of Tiamat, the Tiamat trapped in Avernus is definitively a lesser god. The 2014 Monster Manual (p. 86) explicitly states: "Tiamat the Dragon Queen is the chief deity of evil dragonkind. She dwells on Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. As a lesser god, Tiamat has the power to grant spells to her worshipers, though she is loath to share her power."

If we ignore Divine Ranks and just look at the lore, her power level has never been Mystra-tier. Historically, she is treated as a servant or a watchdog.

4e Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, p62:

In these outlands, Bane's servant Tiamat lurks and plots in the various lairs that Bane allowed her to build.

Fire in the Blood, p520:

Tiamat. The Dragon Queen. Guardian of the Gate to the Second Layer. Latest Vassal of Asmodeus.

Manual of the Planes 1e, p109:

The watchdog of the Hells' front parlor is Tiamat.

Planes of Law, Baator, p16:

Tiamat, the Lady of Dragonkind, guards the only known stable entrance to the next layer. It's only through her lair that one can arrive in the verdigrised plains near the Iron City of Dis.

In 5e's Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (p. 148), it's explicitly noted that: "Challenging an archdevil directly is risky, and Tiamat stands to lose a great deal if Zariel prevails."

Considering that she cannot even guarantee a win against Zariel and was famously killed by Gilgeam (an Intermediate Deity) during the Time of Troubles, putting her on par with Mystra makes no sense. Power-wise, she is much closer to Auril or Bahamut.

-

Argument 3: "Dragons are incredibly powerful, so the Dragon God must be exponentially more powerful."

Dragons are physically and magically powerful, yes. But in the Forgotten Realms, divine power is directly fueled by worship.

Dragons are notoriously arrogant, independent, and narcissistic. The vast majority of them do not actively worship gods. Because her primary demographic (dragons) rarely gives her true devotion, Tiamat lacks the massive reservoir of faith that human or elven deities enjoy.

Compare them to Giants: Giants are generally highly devout toward the Ordning and their creator gods. As a result, the Giant Pantheon is significantly stronger and more cohesive than the Draconic one.

Hello all,

I'm currently exploring DragonLance, and I want to dive into Forgotten Realms at some point in the nearish future. I have been reading around and I have this list so far. I would appreciate any advice on this list. Does it make sense? Any advice? Any major books I may be missing? This list is just meant to cover the early era. Note: I'm not trying to do a full chronological Read, just covering the essentials.

Evermeet

Early Elminster

Elminster: Making of Mage

Elminster in Myth Drannor

The Temptation of Elminster

Dark Elf Trilogy (Drizzt I-III)

Homeland (Drizzt I)

Exile (Drizzt II)

Sojourn (Drizzt III)

Elfshadow

Icewind Dale Trilogy (Drizzt IV-VI)

The Crystal Shard (Drizzt IV)

Streams of Silver (Drizzt V)

The Halfling’s Gem (Drizzt VI)

Shandril Series

Spellfire

Crown of Fire

Hand of Fire

Finder’s Stone

Azure Bonds

Wyvern’s Spur

Song of Saurials

Masquerades (ties into trilogy)

Elfsong

Silver Shadows

Avatar

Shadowdale

Tantras

Waterdeep

Shadows of Avatar

Shadows of Doom

Cloak of Shadows

All Shadows Fled

Legacy of Drow (Drizzt VII-IX)

The Legacy (Drizzt VII)

Starless Night (Drizzt VIII)

Siege of Darkness (Drizzt IX)

Avatar Pt. II

Prince of Lies

Crucible

Cleric Quintet

Canticle

In Sylvan Shadows

Night Masks

The Fallen Fortress

The Chaos Curse

Passage to Dawn (Drizzt X)

Thornhold

Stormlight

Finder’s Bane

Elminster in Hell

I published a module! Arkhan's Tower Expanded is the third module i have released on dmsguild and fourth one ever, and its by far the most ambitious at 25 rooms compared to the 8 rooms in my last one: The Lair Of The Lost Golgari. I'm even going to be working on a follow up module next 😎

Arkhan's Tower Expanded transforms one of the most imposing locations in Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus into a fully realized, eight-floor dungeon adventure for four to six 12th-level characters. Featuring detailed cartography by the legendary Tessa Morecroft, this 34-page supplement brings the tower's hidden dangers to life.

check out my module here at:

https://www.dmsguild.com/product/590575/arkhan-s-tower-expanded?affiliate_id=1664166

and if you like come check out my patreon come see some of the other stuff im working on:

https://www.patreon.com/TheWolvesDenTavern

and if you REALLY like my stuff give me a follow here on reddit, and keep an eye out for my next module, Into the Lair of Tiamat

I'm setting up a 5.5 campaign in the Forgotten Realms soon and have been discussing with the players where to start (we'll be running 'The Lost Library of Lethchauntos' from Adventures in Faerûn).

There was some interest in Baldur's Gate but also a feeling it was overfamiliar and it got me wondering if they are any areas, especially cities, that recieved lore in earlier editions but have been untouched for years? I'd like something with some lore but also the freedom to tweak things for the present.

https://www.deviantart.com/johndowson/art/Avatar-Wars%3A-Bane-108828676

Hey, right now I’m running Curse of Strahd, but I plan to end it with everyone returning to the Forgotten Realms only to discover that the events of Doomed Forgotten Realms have already happened. It got me thinking: wouldn’t it be fun to run a Wrath of the Righteous-style campaign where the players start a revolution and begin reclaiming territory in the Doomed Realms, taking on each faction one by one?

I’m currently considering reading Pathfinder Hell’s Rebels and Wrath of the Righteous for inspiration. Are there any other adventures you guys recommend checking out to help spark ideas? I want to run the whole thing in D&D 5e/5.5.