I actually made the night serpent the one my warlock made a pact with... only because when she was born she was born to be a scafice to her parents pact once she turned 16 but escape in time, she figures she can get killed by holy thing... her parents pact maker or just by her own choice and way taking anyone who plans to get something out of her death
@@Jorphdan yeah your incredible at finding what you need down the rabbit hole. These kind of deep dives distract me for hours when I’m pulling together material
Elf Eater made Lolth and Malar flee for their lives when It turned on them after elven high magic was used to briefly change their appearances into elves. Ityak-Ortheel was that serious a threat!
I would love to hear something about Zhudun the Corpse Star! I have a warlock in my campaign sworn to him and he is by far the most intriguing Elder Evil in my opinion.
Playing a game now where 2 of the party members have become beholden to Dendar. They are trying to free her her celestial shackles and release her upon the world. This is definitely a help in the lore side of things! Amazing video as always Jorphdan. Thanks!
Loving these dives into the far realms, as a DM who has been working out potential Warlock Patrons, or just potential new and unique deities, these videos get me inspired to come up with lots of lore.
You'd love the homebrew campaign I'm working on, most of the world is are those two planes intersecting! ...I have no point to make, just hoped to see someone as excited about this as I am ^^
@@noreaelvago4972 Sure! ...knowing me though, it'll be years. I'm a perfectionist, have way too high ambitions, too many simultanous projects and so on. So... hopefully you'll hear from it one day, I'd plan to make it commercial. In the meantime: I can't recommend the first book from the Southern Reach Trilogy, "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer enough. The film's okay, but the book really portraits the feeling I'm striving for. And then layer an indonesian/mezzoamerican occultism on top of that. Humans are a persecuted minority, every race is way more "exotically" exaggerated, the world has a postapocalyptic feeling, building ruins upon ruins, overgrown by wild jungles and reclaimed by fire... and so on, won't go into spoilers, but that's a very short summary of what I am building^^
I've DM'd for over 30 years, starting on the red box set and i thoroughly enjoy your videos. You have inspired me to change the direction of my campaign more than once and i thank you.
Dendar was the penultimate boss fight of my last campaign. One of my PCs (a Yuan-ti Pureblood) was the reincarnated Yuan-ti priestess of Dendar who succumbed to her influence. The rest of the party went to save them, including a new character by the same player, and they had to fight Dendar. It was an 8 on 1 fight and Dendar still was a struggle, despite all of them being 17th level or higher. Though it wasn't a canonical adaptation of the Dendar from 3.5 but one from Ulraunt's Guide to the Planes: Shadowfell from the DMs Guild. Hell of an encounter loved all of it. Needless to say they were quite ready for the final boss after it.
I can now envision a party that has an elf and a dwarf in it, whenever the dwarf goes to sleep he feigns nightmares about the "Elf Eater" to freak out his elven companion.
Do you know why dwarves and elves hate each other? I tried to google it but it gives kinda mixed answer not specific to the DnD universe as elves and dwarves are in many works of fantasy
@@varun-xu8gv I mean, as far as I'm aware, that trope started with LotR. I think it mostly arose from elves and dwarves having very different mindsets, coupled with a rivalry when it comes to the skill of their artisans that kind of got twisted over time. As for other settings, it's going to vary on a case by case basis. In some, there is no such animosity.
@@varun-xu8gv As far as I know it is because their cultures and ways of thinking are totally opposite, elves live for almost a millennium they can see a problem and think "just leave it there that in a few decades it will resolved it self" they think in a more relaxed way while the dwarves think more about the problems that will happen and they are resentful a saying in forgotten kingdoms is "a dwarf never forgets" that because they tend to live in cities and stone structures and because they live more or less for half a millennium they will see the structures deteriorating and they have to fix a human wouldn’t come a castle made of stone to break with time but dwarfs are why they are so "grumpy" and "petty". At least that's how I see it
I played a cleric of Dendar for a while and it was SO fun to figure out how I would rationalize being a follower and how to evangelize others. It was one of my favorite player experiences.
I have been obsessed about the Far Realm for a long time. I converted Shardminds (and their intent on eradicating the aberrations from the Far Realm) from 4e to 5e and I can never get enough.
Definitely interesting to learn about these elder evils as a relatively newer member to the hobby. Though I have utilized Malar before as a driving force in a Homebrew campaign setting called Fare'n Field. Malar essentially weaseled his way into a massive cult, worshipping a regime of Rakshasa who had established themselves as a major power out in a desert setting called the Erassi Solharan. The Rakshasa having garnered enough followers, hoped to perform a ritual to release their diety the Ravana from the Abyss ..but unbeknownst to them on the day the portal was opened, Malar had already converted ranks of their followers into worshipping him, leading them in a grand hunt against the Rakshasa and into the abyss where the mortal cultists slew the stirring Ravana (Irony being the diety could only be slain by a mortal). High on the power of a legendary hunt, Malar overextended his stay in the abyss, detouring into the personal hunting grounds of Yeenoghu. This lead to a clash of the 2 beings with both sustaining major injuries, and Malar hastily retreating out from the abyss ..in the process leaving his followers behind. A single low cast Rakshasa named Avar (primary antagonist of the campaign) survived the massacre of the Regime, & vowed vengeance against Malar. Tracking the minor diety down to the countryside of Fare'n Field where he lied in hiding within a injured state, Avar hatched his plan. The Rakshasa took notice of a small werewolf tribe that resided in a nearby forest called the Fey'gone Woods. Removing the chieftain, and taking his form the Rakshasa infiltrated the tribe, and slowly over months converted it to the worship of Malar, along with brokering peaceful relations with a nearby logging community called Oakenlodge. Game was becoming scarce to find in the nearby woods due to the logging activity, and so through promises of providing food from hunts, and sharing the werewolve's gift to a select few, Avar was able to spread the religious worship of Malar into the settlement. His hope was to draw in the weakened Malar, by revitalizing his number of followers, and then give the diety a taste of his own medicine by having the followers hunt him down
Hey i just wanted to let you know that I found your channel completely by random, but it is content i have wanted for a very long time. Thank you so much for making these videos and please tell us more about ancient unknowables like the elder things in this vid!
Thank you for the information on Dendar and the module in Adventurers League! I have a Dendar Warlock in my campaign and I wanted her to be the final BBEG.
Who's out there eating knife-ears and where can I find my nearest sacrificial altar? Heh Also I love all of the lore about the Far Realm! Also keeping with the abomination theme, a Daelkyr video could be cool!
I have spent like 15 years, off and on, on a Neverwinter Nights server which had in like 2013 saw Dendar actually escape and the denizens of the underdark invade the surface. Ysinode, a Mind Flayer city in the Lowerdark was helped months prior to Dendar's defeat when players destroyed a rival Beholder hive, giving the Illithid uncontested rule over their region. So Ysinode was able to enthrall and unleash vast armies of mutated soldiers, including an entire drow city, on a darkened and slowly freezing surface. Lots of good memories. It was a lowish level (5-9 average, very few 10's) server so while fighting a Beholder was daunting it was not completely impossible if you prepared and were willing to accept losses. I optimized a druid just right so that I could survive and fight alone in the Lowerdark and try to hunt down the Illithid. Spent a long time wandering the ruined tunnels of the Beholder Hive and fighting its now undead denizens. Lots of other great stories, especially as when Dendar was released - it was a group of players, myself among them, that were the cultists in service to a vampire that did it. We fought Ubtao's fire giant champion outside the Peaks of Flame and created an artifact over the course of months capable of rousing Dendar when shattered on her hide.
My introduction to Kezef was when I was researching Princes of the Apocalypse and was trying to find any information on the "siege engine" known as Kezefbane that the ancient Tyrran paladin Samular Caradoon used in conjunction with the immensely powerful Rings of Samular about 500 years ago to win the Second Troll War. I still don't know what the writers intended when they put the name "Kezef" in that weapon's name other than Samular and Amphail being paladins of Tyr thus giving them a reason to know the story, but I found it fascinating that the book Champions of Ruin says Mask got a sword called Houndsbane which somehow "temporarily frustrated" Kezef's hunt for the Lord of Shadows. So in my game, I decided to merge the two concepts, making Kezefbane a divine artifact in the form of a longsword which, through the use of the immensely powerful Rings of Samular, (crafted by the wizard and fellow Caradoon brother Renwick, who would come to be known as Snowcloak after his death & subsequent lichdom) could be utilized in a limited capacity by a mortal. Since the rings aren't described from what I can tell, I designed them to effectively just allow you to wield Kezefbane and provide no other magical benefit, but each one has a specific requirement to attune to it. One requires you be Lawful, one requires you be Good, and the last one requires you to be a true follower of Tyr. In order to make the sword somehow equal the power to be called a "siege engine" and also be powerful enough to stave off Kezef, I looked into epic spells from 3.5e to use and settled on the following being the two sets of powers: "This weapon can only be wielded by a creature with divine ranks, or a mortal who has attuned to all three Rings of Samular. If attuned in this way, the wielder gains the following benefits: -You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic longsword. -You have resistance to all non-force damage. -When you hit an enemy with an attack using Kezefbane, you may cast the spell Greater Ruin from this weapon. Once you've used this effect, you cannot use it again until the next dawn. If wielded to by a being with divine ranks, the wielder gains the following benefits: -You gain a +5 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic longsword. -You have immunity to all non-force damage. -When you hit an enemy with an attack using Kezefbane, you may cast the spell Vengeful Gaze of God from this weapon. Once you've used this effect, you cannot use it again until the next dawn. If not a being with divine ranks, not attuned to the Rings of Samular, or not attuned to all three, the sword will only function as a magical longsword with no bonus to attack or damage."
Love the idea of the inevitable release of one of these creatures. The party's quest being to find powerful artifacts to bind the creature, and thwart attempts to empower and summon it.
I've personally played the DDAL adventure against Dendar, definitely worthwhile. You should certai my play the 2 previous adventures to get the rest of the story though
Lure Ityak-Ortheel into the demon-web pits, and have him devour all of those evil drow souls. A fitting punishment for Lolth and her legendary betrayal!
ah finally a source the explains why Kezef felt betrayed by Mask... Kinda.. I mean if you read into it it probably had to do with him releasing him as the Godsbane then trapping him again.
I’m currently using the Elf Eater. My PCs are chasing a NPC that has located an ancient netheril scroll that contains the ritual to summon the elf eater. The NPC plans to sell the scroll to the highest bidder. Of course others are interested in the scroll. The elves from Evermeet have agents on the trail. The Harpers and the Lords Alliance are chasing. Banes church wants the scroll. Even Szam Tam has agents looking.
On the one hand, videos like this are fantastic. It's always fun to learn lore from people who can communicate it well. On the other hand, just...this is one of the reasons I can't stand much of Forgotten Realms. "There's this TERRIBLE FAR REALM ENTITY that will DESTROY EXISTENCE!" "Oh no, what's it look like?" "A BIG SNAKE!" "Ah. And it...eats the sun?" "Yes! It's so super-scary!" "So it's Apophos. You made a shittier version of Apophos from Egyption mythology. Good job." EDIT: And Fenrir.
I remember reading the stat block on these guys in Champions of Ruin. Dendar is absolutely insane, that is not an encounter a 20th level party survives easily. You would need an entire campaign to bring her down.
I was just about to comment that a post-game adventure featuring trying to stop Dendar the Night Serpent from entering the world would be perfect...and wouldn't you know it, WoTC was fifteen steps ahead of me!
In my current campaign the DM threw Kezef the Chaos Hound at us at level 12, and we're now most likely gonna have to beat Dendar in the near future. That's been a prediction since the beginning of the campaign, but man it's been a couple years and I'm looking forwards to trying to stop the sun from being snuffed out. It hasn't been mentioned yet, but I expect he'll be throwing Ithyak at us one Dendar is stopped. Could be very fun
The elf eater looks like that monster in the old Dungeon module Thunder Under Needlespire. Not entirely the same as I think that one was elemental in nature but pretty close with all the tentacles.
A slight problem I’ve always had with dnd is how they handle sizes. Dendar is 300 feet long but shatters a planet by constricting it....and swallows the sun. I get that it’s a super big creature but some consistency would be nice.
So I was really interested in the blood queen(who created the aboleths) and the great mother(Created the beholders) since they created these abberations. How would they compare to the 3 mentioned here?
I just had a weird through about like a reverse Thanos type character. Some epic level adventurer who's whole goal is to systematically hunt down liches and elder evils and mad gods. Some crazy strong mortal that even the gods fear and is relentlessly hunting down any threats to mortal life. Could be an interesting position to be filled by a party of level 20+ adventurers
I find the elemental evil eye interesting, featured in the princess of apocalypse 5e campaign, but I'd be interested to know more about the history if that, if there is any that does pertain to. Or other quirky primordials/elementals ... I don't know a lot a bout earlier DnD. And also sorry if I mixed up primordials and elementals there. What is the difference actually?
So Ao would just allow Dendar do destroy Toril? None of the gods, who fought the primordials before would do something? At least we can tell that Greenwood didnt create this. His stuff makes sense.
I wish artists and writers would think through what they come up with. How exactly does a three legged creature walk? The only thing that seems remotely possible, would be something like a three legged horse gallop.
I am using a modified version of the Dawn War Pantheon, and have Dendar replace Zehir as the god of darkness and snakes. I have a bard/cleric in my game who worships her.
I enjoyed it. But I thought that Kezef was also bound by a sword called Kezefbane ? Cryic removing the sword was part of one instance of his being freed. The sword Kezefbane, when used in conjunction with the rings of Samular would power a siege engine. Am I wrong in regard to that or was Kezefbane and the godsword used by cyric one and the same?
@@robertdoom9244 I have no idea. Possibly. Just that whatever relic it is revolves around Kezef and the brothers of Samular. I try to keep things canonical in my content so it was intriguing
Considering my party consists of no elves and is level 16 with a lot of magic swag, they have a good chance against the elf eater, sadly would need to convert the stats to 5e.
I was wondering, in the book Die Vecna Die p122, Vecna is referred to as "a student of the Serpent". Is Dendar the mentioned Serpent?( which by the way the serpent is supposed to be equal to the Lady of Pain).
Why banish the Elf Eater? I would think that banding together and casting some Elven High Magic would be sufficient to destroy or permanently imprison the beast.
So Kezef is Fenrir, Dendar is the Nidhogg and then the Elf-Eater is just horrifying
I agree
The god who's hand got bitten off is literally Tyr.
Why Niddhogg rather than Jormungandr?
@@quicksilvertongue3248 because Nidhogg was more fitting
@@samtheactualkenku6205 yeah but Jormungand is a way cooler name. Then again, this is D&D, their track record with names leaves a lot to be desired.
As soon as I heard the hand biting I was like, “Why did you not just call him Fenrir and just give them this random name?”
The Elder Evil book of 3.5 edition is one of my favourite DnD books of all time.
It had so much fantastic content.
Truth!
I still can’t get over the fact of how well these videos are made!!! They are all amazing!
Thanks!
They really are, it’s a great channel
He's easily my favorite lore channel.
I actually made the night serpent the one my warlock made a pact with... only because when she was born she was born to be a scafice to her parents pact once she turned 16 but escape in time, she figures she can get killed by holy thing... her parents pact maker or just by her own choice and way taking anyone who plans to get something out of her death
Shout out to whoever edits these videos. You’re nailing it.
Yeah, they... *Roc*
That's Me! Thanks :)
@@Jorphdan yeah your incredible at finding what you need down the rabbit hole. These kind of deep dives distract me for hours when I’m pulling together material
You’re*
@@jthrone7768 you are correct.
Elf Eater made Lolth and Malar flee for their lives when It turned on them after elven high magic was used to briefly change their appearances into elves. Ityak-Ortheel was that serious a threat!
I would love to hear something about Zhudun the Corpse Star! I have a warlock in my campaign sworn to him and he is by far the most intriguing Elder Evil in my opinion.
Playing a game now where 2 of the party members have become beholden to Dendar. They are trying to free her her celestial shackles and release her upon the world. This is definitely a help in the lore side of things!
Amazing video as always Jorphdan. Thanks!
Loving these dives into the far realms, as a DM who has been working out potential Warlock Patrons, or just potential new and unique deities, these videos get me inspired to come up with lots of lore.
This is exactly what I wanted to see in order to inspire my DM
My favorite planes are the Feywild and the Far Realms, and I love you're making a video about one of them now
You'd love the homebrew campaign I'm working on, most of the world is are those two planes intersecting!
...I have no point to make, just hoped to see someone as excited about this as I am ^^
@@MassiveKreutz I would love to give it a look when you finish, maybe I can take something from you
@@noreaelvago4972 Sure! ...knowing me though, it'll be years. I'm a perfectionist, have way too high ambitions, too many simultanous projects and so on.
So... hopefully you'll hear from it one day, I'd plan to make it commercial.
In the meantime: I can't recommend the first book from the Southern Reach Trilogy, "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer enough. The film's okay, but the book really portraits the feeling I'm striving for.
And then layer an indonesian/mezzoamerican occultism on top of that. Humans are a persecuted minority, every race is way more "exotically" exaggerated, the world has a postapocalyptic feeling, building ruins upon ruins, overgrown by wild jungles and reclaimed by fire... and so on, won't go into spoilers, but that's a very short summary of what I am building^^
That quote at the beginning is so good.
I've DM'd for over 30 years, starting on the red box set and i thoroughly enjoy your videos. You have inspired me to change the direction of my campaign more than once and i thank you.
That's great! Happy to have helped 🙂
when he said "Yuan-ti worship Dendar" at 2:36, I thought he said "your aunty worshipped Dendar" O_O XD
yo yur aunty so snakey she done worship DENDAR! :P
Great video Jordan! Was excited for this one and you didn’t disappoint!
Glad you enjoyed!
@@Jorphdan Of course! Love all your stuff! Makes me want to learn more and more about the Forgotten Realms!
Dendar was the penultimate boss fight of my last campaign. One of my PCs (a Yuan-ti Pureblood) was the reincarnated Yuan-ti priestess of Dendar who succumbed to her influence. The rest of the party went to save them, including a new character by the same player, and they had to fight Dendar.
It was an 8 on 1 fight and Dendar still was a struggle, despite all of them being 17th level or higher. Though it wasn't a canonical adaptation of the Dendar from 3.5 but one from Ulraunt's Guide to the Planes: Shadowfell from the DMs Guild. Hell of an encounter loved all of it. Needless to say they were quite ready for the final boss after it.
I can now envision a party that has an elf and a dwarf in it, whenever the dwarf goes to sleep he feigns nightmares about the "Elf Eater" to freak out his elven companion.
Do you know why dwarves and elves hate each other? I tried to google it but it gives kinda mixed answer not specific to the DnD universe as elves and dwarves are in many works of fantasy
@@varun-xu8gv I mean, as far as I'm aware, that trope started with LotR. I think it mostly arose from elves and dwarves having very different mindsets, coupled with a rivalry when it comes to the skill of their artisans that kind of got twisted over time.
As for other settings, it's going to vary on a case by case basis. In some, there is no such animosity.
@@varun-xu8gv As far as I know it is because their cultures and ways of thinking are totally opposite, elves live for almost a millennium they can see a problem and think "just leave it there that in a few decades it will resolved it self" they think in a more relaxed way while the dwarves think more about the problems that will happen and they are resentful a saying in forgotten kingdoms is "a dwarf never forgets" that because they tend to live in cities and stone structures and because they live more or less for half a millennium they will see the structures deteriorating and they have to fix a human wouldn’t come a castle made of stone to break with time but dwarfs are why they are so "grumpy" and "petty". At least that's how I see it
I played a cleric of Dendar for a while and it was SO fun to figure out how I would rationalize being a follower and how to evangelize others. It was one of my favorite player experiences.
Thanks to you I managed to acquire the scenario for Dendar. I needed that. Warlock stuff.
I have been obsessed about the Far Realm for a long time. I converted Shardminds (and their intent on eradicating the aberrations from the Far Realm) from 4e to 5e and I can never get enough.
3:28 "So, can I roll a constitution check?"
Both Dendar and Kezef are characters in the last two books of the Avatar Series, which covers the Time of Troubles.
Definitely interesting to learn about these elder evils as a relatively newer member to the hobby. Though I have utilized Malar before as a driving force in a Homebrew campaign setting called Fare'n Field. Malar essentially weaseled his way into a massive cult, worshipping a regime of Rakshasa who had established themselves as a major power out in a desert setting called the Erassi Solharan. The Rakshasa having garnered enough followers, hoped to perform a ritual to release their diety the Ravana from the Abyss ..but unbeknownst to them on the day the portal was opened, Malar had already converted ranks of their followers into worshipping him, leading them in a grand hunt against the Rakshasa and into the abyss where the mortal cultists slew the stirring Ravana (Irony being the diety could only be slain by a mortal). High on the power of a legendary hunt, Malar overextended his stay in the abyss, detouring into the personal hunting grounds of Yeenoghu. This lead to a clash of the 2 beings with both sustaining major injuries, and Malar hastily retreating out from the abyss ..in the process leaving his followers behind.
A single low cast Rakshasa named Avar (primary antagonist of the campaign) survived the massacre of the Regime, & vowed vengeance against Malar. Tracking the minor diety down to the countryside of Fare'n Field where he lied in hiding within a injured state, Avar hatched his plan. The Rakshasa took notice of a small werewolf tribe that resided in a nearby forest called the Fey'gone Woods. Removing the chieftain, and taking his form the Rakshasa infiltrated the tribe, and slowly over months converted it to the worship of Malar, along with brokering peaceful relations with a nearby logging community called Oakenlodge. Game was becoming scarce to find in the nearby woods due to the logging activity, and so through promises of providing food from hunts, and sharing the werewolve's gift to a select few, Avar was able to spread the religious worship of Malar into the settlement. His hope was to draw in the weakened Malar, by revitalizing his number of followers, and then give the diety a taste of his own medicine by having the followers hunt him down
Hey i just wanted to let you know that I found your channel completely by random, but it is content i have wanted for a very long time. Thank you so much for making these videos and please tell us more about ancient unknowables like the elder things in this vid!
Jorphdan, your videos have single handedly improved my world. Thank you.
Thank you Jorphdan for the video! i loved those Eternal Elder Evils! and can't wait for your next video.
Awesome! :)
Thank you for the information on Dendar and the module in Adventurers League! I have a Dendar Warlock in my campaign and I wanted her to be the final BBEG.
Who's out there eating knife-ears and where can I find my nearest sacrificial altar? Heh
Also I love all of the lore about the Far Realm!
Also keeping with the abomination theme, a Daelkyr video could be cool!
If all knife ears are dead, then there are no elves to torment. We must destroy the threat to our long and honorable history.
I have spent like 15 years, off and on, on a Neverwinter Nights server which had in like 2013 saw Dendar actually escape and the denizens of the underdark invade the surface. Ysinode, a Mind Flayer city in the Lowerdark was helped months prior to Dendar's defeat when players destroyed a rival Beholder hive, giving the Illithid uncontested rule over their region. So Ysinode was able to enthrall and unleash vast armies of mutated soldiers, including an entire drow city, on a darkened and slowly freezing surface.
Lots of good memories. It was a lowish level (5-9 average, very few 10's) server so while fighting a Beholder was daunting it was not completely impossible if you prepared and were willing to accept losses. I optimized a druid just right so that I could survive and fight alone in the Lowerdark and try to hunt down the Illithid. Spent a long time wandering the ruined tunnels of the Beholder Hive and fighting its now undead denizens. Lots of other great stories, especially as when Dendar was released - it was a group of players, myself among them, that were the cultists in service to a vampire that did it. We fought Ubtao's fire giant champion outside the Peaks of Flame and created an artifact over the course of months capable of rousing Dendar when shattered on her hide.
Damn.....didn't she already eat the sun once before???
B!tch is a one verse song.😆
Woooow! I was going to ask you on instagram to make a video about Dendar the night serpent eating the sun and dooming everything
Amazing how Dendar sounds like Bakunawa. Amazing work!!
That's the first time I've seen a "Game Over" in D&D. Epic.
hooray, my boy Cyric gets a mention
Shars puppet boy... Sucker lol
Shars puppet boy... Sucker lol
Those lore videos give me so much ideas that I'll probably never use!
My introduction to Kezef was when I was researching Princes of the Apocalypse and was trying to find any information on the "siege engine" known as Kezefbane that the ancient Tyrran paladin Samular Caradoon used in conjunction with the immensely powerful Rings of Samular about 500 years ago to win the Second Troll War. I still don't know what the writers intended when they put the name "Kezef" in that weapon's name other than Samular and Amphail being paladins of Tyr thus giving them a reason to know the story, but I found it fascinating that the book Champions of Ruin says Mask got a sword called Houndsbane which somehow "temporarily frustrated" Kezef's hunt for the Lord of Shadows.
So in my game, I decided to merge the two concepts, making Kezefbane a divine artifact in the form of a longsword which, through the use of the immensely powerful Rings of Samular, (crafted by the wizard and fellow Caradoon brother Renwick, who would come to be known as Snowcloak after his death & subsequent lichdom) could be utilized in a limited capacity by a mortal. Since the rings aren't described from what I can tell, I designed them to effectively just allow you to wield Kezefbane and provide no other magical benefit, but each one has a specific requirement to attune to it. One requires you be Lawful, one requires you be Good, and the last one requires you to be a true follower of Tyr. In order to make the sword somehow equal the power to be called a "siege engine" and also be powerful enough to stave off Kezef, I looked into epic spells from 3.5e to use and settled on the following being the two sets of powers:
"This weapon can only be wielded by a creature with divine ranks, or a mortal who has attuned to all three Rings of Samular. If attuned in this way, the wielder gains the following benefits:
-You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic longsword.
-You have resistance to all non-force damage.
-When you hit an enemy with an attack using Kezefbane, you may cast the spell Greater Ruin from this weapon. Once you've used this effect, you cannot use it again until the next dawn.
If wielded to by a being with divine ranks, the wielder gains the following benefits:
-You gain a +5 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic longsword.
-You have immunity to all non-force damage.
-When you hit an enemy with an attack using Kezefbane, you may cast the spell Vengeful Gaze of God from this weapon. Once you've used this effect, you cannot use it again until the next dawn.
If not a being with divine ranks, not attuned to the Rings of Samular, or not attuned to all three, the sword will only function as a magical longsword with no bonus to attack or damage."
Nice I've been waiting for this !!
Love the idea of the inevitable release of one of these creatures. The party's quest being to find powerful artifacts to bind the creature, and thwart attempts to empower and summon it.
I've personally played the DDAL adventure against Dendar, definitely worthwhile. You should certai my play the 2 previous adventures to get the rest of the story though
The 11 through 20 content in chult was tonnes of fun to play and run. Highly recommend.
nice!
@@Jorphdan if you want to play it I'd be happy to run.
"If they stat it, you can kill it." -Spoony
Lure Ityak-Ortheel into the demon-web pits, and have him devour all of those evil drow souls. A fitting punishment for Lolth and her legendary betrayal!
Ahh dude that thing is a turtle wearing a morbol! Lol
Fun story, currently running Tomb of Annihilation... so yep, Dendar is a thing for my group
Wow woweeee, loved it!
ah finally a source the explains why Kezef felt betrayed by Mask... Kinda.. I mean if you read into it it probably had to do with him releasing him as the Godsbane then trapping him again.
So much Norse mythology in this video :D
D&D writers: Hey can I copy your homework?
Norse Mythology: Yeah, just change it a bit so it isn't obvious.
The Elf-Eater is just a story to scary little elf children to not eat too many mushrooms
I’m currently using the Elf Eater. My PCs are chasing a NPC that has located an ancient netheril scroll that contains the ritual to summon the elf eater. The NPC plans to sell the scroll to the highest bidder. Of course others are interested in the scroll. The elves from Evermeet have agents on the trail. The Harpers and the Lords Alliance are chasing. Banes church wants the scroll. Even Szam Tam has agents looking.
Please post Ragnorra next she is one of my favorite Elder evils because of how wonderfully Cronenbergian she is.
On the one hand, videos like this are fantastic. It's always fun to learn lore from people who can communicate it well.
On the other hand, just...this is one of the reasons I can't stand much of Forgotten Realms. "There's this TERRIBLE FAR REALM ENTITY that will DESTROY EXISTENCE!"
"Oh no, what's it look like?"
"A BIG SNAKE!"
"Ah. And it...eats the sun?"
"Yes! It's so super-scary!"
"So it's Apophos. You made a shittier version of Apophos from Egyption mythology. Good job."
EDIT: And Fenrir.
I remember reading the stat block on these guys in Champions of Ruin. Dendar is absolutely insane, that is not an encounter a 20th level party survives easily. You would need an entire campaign to bring her down.
If you have been going through elder evils I can't wait till you get to the undead planet.
IE - Hounds endlessly pursue thieves.
James Lowder rules.
I was just about to comment that a post-game adventure featuring trying to stop Dendar the Night Serpent from entering the world would be perfect...and wouldn't you know it, WoTC was fifteen steps ahead of me!
Great video, love the topic. Also, I need that Flat Mars shirt, got a link? :D
Here ya go :) www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/15352105-flat-mars-society
That, ph is silent, never gets old.
First read of Dendar and Kezef in, "Prince of Lies"
My party is very likely to try and liberate the Elf Eater.
In my current campaign the DM threw Kezef the Chaos Hound at us at level 12, and we're now most likely gonna have to beat Dendar in the near future. That's been a prediction since the beginning of the campaign, but man it's been a couple years and I'm looking forwards to trying to stop the sun from being snuffed out. It hasn't been mentioned yet, but I expect he'll be throwing Ithyak at us one Dendar is stopped. Could be very fun
*ATROPUS HYPE*
These stories are completely lifted from Norse lore. Names have been changed to protect the individuals...
kezef's first imprisoning is a retelling of fenrir's imprisoning in norse mythology
The elf eater looks like that monster in the old Dungeon module Thunder Under Needlespire. Not entirely the same as I think that one was elemental in nature but pretty close with all the tentacles.
A slight problem I’ve always had with dnd is how they handle sizes. Dendar is 300 feet long but shatters a planet by constricting it....and swallows the sun. I get that it’s a super big creature but some consistency would be nice.
This is literally the story of tyr losing his hand to fenrir
You should do a video on the fugue plane!
Kezef's story sounds a lot like Fenrir's story. Not complaining btw. Still dope 👌
So I was really interested in the blood queen(who created the aboleths) and the great mother(Created the beholders) since they created these abberations. How would they compare to the 3 mentioned here?
Elf-Eater looks much like a giant flumph. Coincidence? I think not!
Excellent video as always Jorphdan! Will you do a video on the elder evils Zargon and Pandorym btw?
I just had a weird through about like a reverse Thanos type character. Some epic level adventurer who's whole goal is to systematically hunt down liches and elder evils and mad gods. Some crazy strong mortal that even the gods fear and is relentlessly hunting down any threats to mortal life. Could be an interesting position to be filled by a party of level 20+ adventurers
I find the elemental evil eye interesting, featured in the princess of apocalypse 5e campaign, but I'd be interested to know more about the history if that, if there is any that does pertain to. Or other quirky primordials/elementals ... I don't know a lot a bout earlier DnD. And also sorry if I mixed up primordials and elementals there. What is the difference actually?
I've been questioning for some time if the "Elder Evils" 3.5 Edition core sourcebook would be ideal for handle a campaign story arc involving these 3.
So Ao would just allow Dendar do destroy Toril? None of the gods, who fought the primordials before would do something? At least we can tell that Greenwood didnt create this. His stuff makes sense.
Knowing the story of fenrir that second story sounded very familiar
Love your channel
Thanks!
By chance, does this mean you might cover Atropus, the World Born Dead?
Yep!
I miss these types of videos from Jorphdan
Seems like we don't have a choice, fight or die...FML
I wish artists and writers would think through what they come up with. How exactly does a three legged creature walk? The only thing that seems remotely possible, would be something like a three legged horse gallop.
Atropus is my post ToA plan if my group survives
I am using a modified version of the Dawn War Pantheon, and have Dendar replace Zehir as the god of darkness and snakes. I have a bard/cleric in my game who worships her.
mask face turn make his the best CN god
I enjoyed it. But I thought that Kezef was also bound by a sword called Kezefbane ? Cryic removing the sword was part of one instance of his being freed. The sword Kezefbane, when used in conjunction with the rings of Samular would power a siege engine. Am I wrong in regard to that or was Kezefbane and the godsword used by cyric one and the same?
Your answer might be in the book Thornhold? I haven't read it though so I'm not sure!
Are you thinking about the sword HoundsBane given to mask (by Mystra) to protect him from Kezef?
@@robertdoom9244 I have no idea. Possibly. Just that whatever relic it is revolves around Kezef and the brothers of Samular. I try to keep things canonical in my content so it was intriguing
Thanks.
What about the less tangible, more lovecraftian elder evils? Like the great cosmic horrors they are told to be, like hadar or the great old one?
Considering my party consists of no elves and is level 16 with a lot of magic swag, they have a good chance against the elf eater, sadly would need to convert the stats to 5e.
As an elf i also dread this lol
I was wondering, in the book Die Vecna Die p122, Vecna is referred to as "a student of the Serpent". Is Dendar the mentioned Serpent?( which by the way the serpent is supposed to be equal to the Lady of Pain).
So niddhog/jormundgander, fenrir ANd some wierd tentacle elephant turtle anteater thing.
Wasn't the elfeater along with malar in the book elves of evermeet?
So... Dendar is also like Apophis in the Egypt Panteon
Toothless Maw
So the elf eater is the elves literal boogeyman.
The dislikes are from elves.
*Elf. There's only one dislike
The dislikes are ALWAYS from Elves.
Why banish the Elf Eater? I would think that banding together and casting some Elven High Magic would be sufficient to destroy or permanently imprison the beast.
The elf eater looks like the plant boss in ff9 ( i think)
Will you be covering Hadar?
I'll start researching 🙂