Part of the charm of D&D, that many of these various characters have actual history at the game table... as opposed to just created for flavour and setting.
But even those characters started as "created for flavour and setting" once. I hope you just don't reject the new ones outright just because. Volo, or Volothamp Geddarn was once such a character and while I didn't dislike the character I sure as heck wasn't as found of him as I am now.
@@TrickKnees For sure... I mean, ALL characters are created for some purpose obviously. My point was more along the lines of it being interesting that (some of) the names we get in D&D books (like Mordenkainen or Bigby) are steeped in an organic history and having been an active PC, rather than a name randomly assigned to give a spell some mystique. Certainly there will have to be other creations that don't have that history, but the ones that do I feel really add to the richness of the game's history.
Didn’t mention his signature spells; of which he has 23, but probably the most well known are: Mordenkainen’s faithful hound, Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion, and Mordenkainen’s sword.
Love this lore overview! D&D canon is kind of an oxymoron but the history of these recurring characters is awesome. My headcanon is that Mordenkainen psyched himself into seeing a receding hairline and committed to the bald life. A fate that had befallen many a wizard
and that 100% could be the case. We do know that he shaved his head, then went crazy in Ravenloft and supposedly it grew back over the years he was there (but to what extent -- who knows), but shortly after being released from RL he shaved it again.. so... I'm gonna have to go with your headcanon too.
Ah, good old Mordy. My favorite appearance of Mordenkainen will always be in the article, "Robilar Remembers: Journey to the City of the Gods," from _Oerth Journal_ #6 (pp. 44-52), which recounts the details of the time that Mordenkainen and Robilar went adventuring in Blackmoor, with Dave Arneson as DM. Aside from recounting the details of their adventure, in brief, the article also includes comments on their performance from the DM, and Rob Kuntz's own memories of the session.
@@gamemastersIt's definitely worth a read. _Oerth Journal_ is a free zine focused on the Greyhawk setting, so you can find all the issues at Greyhawk Online. Dave Arneson's commentary is priceless; it amounts to "they didn't do very well, but better than most."
I'm working like mad on the Wizards Three video... I just fear at how long it's going to be.. I almost am tempted to cut some of it.. currently it's about 2 hours long.
What I think is more interesting, is how Elminster used to be the main mage of D&D, but now is hardly ever mentioned anywhere, even though Toril a.k.a the world the Sword Coast sits on, feels like the default campaign setting of D&D 5e.
@@gamemastersoo just finished the video now, thanks so much man. Can't wait for all these videos. You could do like a weekly series on famous wizards from d&d as like a regular segment, sounds like you got stuff brewing already.
Thanks Gamemaster! I don’t have WG 5, appreciate the preview. Would love to take The Silver Portal Key into the Dungeon of the Mad Mage; it takes forever for those portals to work.
haha awesome to hear! I've got two more super fun videos coming out that are.. sortav tethered to this one; I hint at both in the video, but one will be all about the Wizards Three, and another will be an in depth look at the module that we speak about in here... (I'll tease three more also : Elminster vs Rastlin / Who is Alustriel / Who is Tasha).
Firstly, This, was a very good video. 10/10 more please. Tasha and Alustriel? Both of them have a boatload of children. That a connection? Truth be told, while obviously personal to our table, I am actually looking forward to the interactions with these characters just given past interactions of previous characters as the events of past campaigns influence future campaigns for us. Despite our 'grand campaign' having included Descent into Avernus AND Curse of Strahd, I don't recall our party having ever actually met Mordenkainen. I get the feeling the DM wants to keep that tower as far away from us as possible because he knows we would mercilessly exploit mobile defenses if given even half a second to do so, nowhere would be safe. Through Wild Beyond the Witchllight past characters have come into contact with Tasha. In that module she offers each character a wish. Given that she was the lover of the Demon Lord Graz'zt one of those wishes was for her to take and honor an oath of celibacy while never again stepping foot into the outer planes as we viewed her as a potential threat. So that should be an interesting reunion. Alustriel is another interesting figure as she has become something of a target for diplomacy in the Birthright side of our gameplay with several characters actively trying to persuade her to legitimize a child and arrange a marriage. In-game this has been an ongoing effort for more than half a century. The goal being one to increase influence in the regions of Aglarond and the Silver Marches. So more-so that Vecna and a rod that is likely more exploitable than the Deck of Wonder, it is the interactions with these three and some of the other characters that have been mentioned that I am most looking forward to with this module.
I searched high and low and could find zero "romantic" connections between Mord and Tasha or Mord and Alustriel because I too wondered that, but yeah, couldn't find anything. Birthright!!! Wow.. talk about a setting out in left field.. I've got 1 BR module.. I need to look through that setting again. I remember when it came out, my initial response was simply a shoulder shrug. I wonder if it would have a different bite now that I'm older..
@@gamemasters I doubt they have any romantic connection to Mord honestly. As for birthright, the setting I wasn't much on but those mechanics I love. Essentially establishing bloodline abilities, mechanics for ruling over a realm, developing it, managing vassals and the like. We essentially took those mechanics and apply them to the forgotten realms. Many characters in our campaign wind up having territory they govern by the end of the campaign. So, essentially, it allows us to continue playing those characters to influence the world after their adventuring days are over and it continues to impact the world. We love the inclusion of it as it keeps our past characters and other NPCs still very much present in the world, I highly recommend it if you have a homebrew world and want to flesh it out, especially if you want to give you players a vested interest in that world.
@@robertgray821 ooohhh... I can't remember if I told you or not... I ran Nest of the Eldritch Eye for my 2nd group this past weekend.. they ended up "downing" the cult of Vecna and have decided to take over as the "leaders" and join Vecna's cause.
@@gamemasters Things like that are what make D&D actually enjoyable to DM. When players respond in completely unexpected methods to the scenarios you provide them with. Truth be told, I am pretty sure I would get bored and quit DMing if I had a table of players that wanted to follow a 'proscribed plot' of WotC's creation.
Oh, quite literally! In one of the articles, Jeff Grub wrote that Elminster was fond of "those Australian beers". I'll be mentioning that in a bit more depth when I deep dive my Wizards Three video.
Whats your staff in the background have for a head piece? I like the twisted wood. I personally have one with a snake's head for the top that i found in an amusement park of all places years ago. Its technically a walking stick but it's tall for most people so i consider it more stave-like
It's a carved staff that my brothers and sisters (two of each) carved for me from a twisted vine wrapped branch, the head piece is just the twisted forked knot. I've got a crown royal bag (it's got inside the deck of many things) hanging from it, and the paper is a prop piece of parchment that I used in a campaign that warned the adventurers that the cult of vecna was growing in numbers.
Like the big ass vines you see out in the woods? Never seen that they leave indentations like that, that's pretty bitchin. So the head piece is just a natural formation also you mean or?
I think he started shaving his head in the 3e Living Greyhawk era and Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins, I think it's one of those "new beginnings" mid-life crisis kind of haircut. The previous "Arc" from Greyhawk which was the Greyhawk Wars/From the Ashes story line from 2e was a really dark time for Oerth as a cambion demigod Iuz invaded countries with his demon army and allies, and the Circle of Eight was occupied reviving the members that were slain by Vecna. At the end of the Greyhawk Wars at the treaty signing, Rary of The Circle of Eight betrayed them and killed many of its members for he disagreed with neutrality in the war and that the quarrelsome circle was too ineffective. At the same time "Robilar", a trusted adventuring friend of Mordy and the circle sacked the castles of reviving and cloning components of those killed. Basically, Mordy and the eight went through some rough shit at that time, was called out and betrayed by two friends, and probably had to re-evaluate a lot in a mid-life crisis.
I'm gonna give this comment some high praise, I'd wager the head shaving was brought on exactly due to "mid-life crisis". Combine that with his own mind-wipe spell that he cast upon himself.. yeah.. rough times indeed haha
hehe there is a section in the module that expressly tells the DM to inform the players that should they choose to use the prerolled characters in it, to understand that because they are legendary that they have abilities that normal player characters may not have (like knowing all spells from 1st to 6th level) or by having such good AC.
As more and more stuff was written about Mordenkainen in later editions, I feel that his moral characterization began to slip more and more. Ever since 3rd edition, where so much of his actions feel like they are centered on maintaining tyrannies and violent struggles solely to fulfill his own self-diagnosed "need for balance", I don't feel comfortable putting him as anything other than Chaotic Evil (which I did in Manual of the Planes 5e)
See.. that's where I can see him as well.. (in later editions - which is why I also chose that he reminds me of Ming, not just in looks but also in thought processes). Makes me really curious how he will come across in Vecna Eve of Ruin.
@@gamemasters About eight years ago, I attended the panel of an award-winning Marvel Comics writer who talked about a "Moral Gravity Well" around certain headlining characters where authors are reluctant to question the actions of any protagonist with enough brand recognition (Captain America was the example provided). I feel like Mordenkainen forms such a gravity well in contemporary D&D, seeing as his name and image is so intimately tied to the game's images. In all likelihood, WotC will bend over backwards to conceal, justify, or outright rewrite the character's history and ideology when he shows up in Vecna. Heck, I'd be surprised if they mention anything about the Circle of Eight.
I prefer Morden with the full head of hair-look... Not too fond of his more modern "pulp evil sorcerer" look... Anyway... Im sure whatever we get will be brief, uninformative, and ultimately lackluster in story and lore... because WotC don't really care about that stuff. ...which is a shame, because they are in the WRONG business to not be focusing on stories and histories and lore... It's like a video game developer of RPG's who actively hates writing story... -_-
Part of the charm of D&D, that many of these various characters have actual history at the game table... as opposed to just created for flavour and setting.
yup! That's what was really cool about this early module too, you could play the same character that the creator of the game played.
But even those characters started as "created for flavour and setting" once. I hope you just don't reject the new ones outright just because. Volo, or Volothamp Geddarn was once such a character and while I didn't dislike the character I sure as heck wasn't as found of him as I am now.
@@TrickKnees For sure... I mean, ALL characters are created for some purpose obviously.
My point was more along the lines of it being interesting that (some of) the names we get in D&D books (like Mordenkainen or Bigby) are steeped in an organic history and having been an active PC, rather than a name randomly assigned to give a spell some mystique.
Certainly there will have to be other creations that don't have that history, but the ones that do I feel really add to the richness of the game's history.
@@Merlinstergandaldore ah! Yea! I get it. Miss understood there. Thanks for clarifying 😊
Didn’t mention his signature spells; of which he has 23, but probably the most well known are: Mordenkainen’s faithful hound, Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion, and Mordenkainen’s sword.
At level 12 he hadnt created them yet. But dont worry , when we deep dive into the Wizards Three, we'll cover spells.
Don't forget Mordenkainen's Disjunction, aka the Bane of PCs
Love this lore overview! D&D canon is kind of an oxymoron but the history of these recurring characters is awesome.
My headcanon is that Mordenkainen psyched himself into seeing a receding hairline and committed to the bald life. A fate that had befallen many a wizard
and that 100% could be the case. We do know that he shaved his head, then went crazy in Ravenloft and supposedly it grew back over the years he was there (but to what extent -- who knows), but shortly after being released from RL he shaved it again.. so... I'm gonna have to go with your headcanon too.
Love being a magical supporter! Glad to help make this channel and your content better and better (= Thank you for the great viddy vid GM!
Would like a Raistlin Majere video like this. Very nice.
shhhhh... there is one in the works :) Even working on an Elminsters vs Raistlin video too.. :)
@@gamemasters Nice!!!
Ah, good old Mordy. My favorite appearance of Mordenkainen will always be in the article, "Robilar Remembers: Journey to the City of the Gods," from _Oerth Journal_ #6 (pp. 44-52), which recounts the details of the time that Mordenkainen and Robilar went adventuring in Blackmoor, with Dave Arneson as DM. Aside from recounting the details of their adventure, in brief, the article also includes comments on their performance from the DM, and Rob Kuntz's own memories of the session.
I need to seek that one out, I've never heard of it but.. is a must read for me now!
@@gamemastersIt's definitely worth a read. _Oerth Journal_ is a free zine focused on the Greyhawk setting, so you can find all the issues at Greyhawk Online. Dave Arneson's commentary is priceless; it amounts to "they didn't do very well, but better than most."
Thanks for making this!
I'm working like mad on the Wizards Three video... I just fear at how long it's going to be.. I almost am tempted to cut some of it.. currently it's about 2 hours long.
What I think is more interesting, is how Elminster used to be the main mage of D&D, but now is hardly ever mentioned anywhere, even though Toril a.k.a the world the Sword Coast sits on, feels like the default campaign setting of D&D 5e.
likely because Ed Greenwood is still alive and WotC doesn't want to dish out royalties.
Thanks for this video man. Fulfilled a request of mine c:
I just can't wait to dive deep into the Wizards Three...
@@gamemastersoo just finished the video now, thanks so much man. Can't wait for all these videos.
You could do like a weekly series on famous wizards from d&d as like a regular segment, sounds like you got stuff brewing already.
Thanks Gamemaster! I don’t have WG 5, appreciate the preview. Would love to take The Silver Portal Key into the Dungeon of the Mad Mage; it takes forever for those portals to work.
Haha indeed it would be helpful there!
I’m two minutes into this video and I can already tell I’m going to wish there was more by the end 😭
haha awesome to hear! I've got two more super fun videos coming out that are.. sortav tethered to this one; I hint at both in the video, but one will be all about the Wizards Three, and another will be an in depth look at the module that we speak about in here... (I'll tease three more also : Elminster vs Rastlin / Who is Alustriel / Who is Tasha).
The new PHB contains a campaign setting. What setting wil that be 🤔😎
Where did you hear that?
@@DavidsonMoslak Chris Perkins. A while ago. I’ll try to find it.
It was mentioned during the panel at Garycon 2023. I have to correct. It will be in the DMG. Also includes a poster.
(dmg) it'll likely be.. FR...
@@sanderpio8234 sounds too good to be true to be honest, but having it in the dmg makes more sense than the phb for sure at least.
Firstly, This, was a very good video. 10/10 more please.
Tasha and Alustriel? Both of them have a boatload of children. That a connection?
Truth be told, while obviously personal to our table, I am actually looking forward to the interactions with these characters just given past interactions of previous characters as the events of past campaigns influence future campaigns for us.
Despite our 'grand campaign' having included Descent into Avernus AND Curse of Strahd, I don't recall our party having ever actually met Mordenkainen. I get the feeling the DM wants to keep that tower as far away from us as possible because he knows we would mercilessly exploit mobile defenses if given even half a second to do so, nowhere would be safe.
Through Wild Beyond the Witchllight past characters have come into contact with Tasha. In that module she offers each character a wish. Given that she was the lover of the Demon Lord Graz'zt one of those wishes was for her to take and honor an oath of celibacy while never again stepping foot into the outer planes as we viewed her as a potential threat. So that should be an interesting reunion.
Alustriel is another interesting figure as she has become something of a target for diplomacy in the Birthright side of our gameplay with several characters actively trying to persuade her to legitimize a child and arrange a marriage. In-game this has been an ongoing effort for more than half a century. The goal being one to increase influence in the regions of Aglarond and the Silver Marches.
So more-so that Vecna and a rod that is likely more exploitable than the Deck of Wonder, it is the interactions with these three and some of the other characters that have been mentioned that I am most looking forward to with this module.
I searched high and low and could find zero "romantic" connections between Mord and Tasha or Mord and Alustriel because I too wondered that, but yeah, couldn't find anything.
Birthright!!! Wow.. talk about a setting out in left field.. I've got 1 BR module.. I need to look through that setting again. I remember when it came out, my initial response was simply a shoulder shrug. I wonder if it would have a different bite now that I'm older..
@@gamemasters I doubt they have any romantic connection to Mord honestly.
As for birthright, the setting I wasn't much on but those mechanics I love. Essentially establishing bloodline abilities, mechanics for ruling over a realm, developing it, managing vassals and the like. We essentially took those mechanics and apply them to the forgotten realms. Many characters in our campaign wind up having territory they govern by the end of the campaign. So, essentially, it allows us to continue playing those characters to influence the world after their adventuring days are over and it continues to impact the world. We love the inclusion of it as it keeps our past characters and other NPCs still very much present in the world, I highly recommend it if you have a homebrew world and want to flesh it out, especially if you want to give you players a vested interest in that world.
@@robertgray821 ooohhh... I can't remember if I told you or not... I ran Nest of the Eldritch Eye for my 2nd group this past weekend.. they ended up "downing" the cult of Vecna and have decided to take over as the "leaders" and join Vecna's cause.
@@gamemasters
Things like that are what make D&D actually enjoyable to DM. When players respond in completely unexpected methods to the scenarios you provide them with. Truth be told, I am pretty sure I would get bored and quit DMing if I had a table of players that wanted to follow a 'proscribed plot' of WotC's creation.
Elminster told Mord to hold his beer.😅😂
Oh, quite literally! In one of the articles, Jeff Grub wrote that Elminster was fond of "those Australian beers". I'll be mentioning that in a bit more depth when I deep dive my Wizards Three video.
Whats your staff in the background have for a head piece? I like the twisted wood. I personally have one with a snake's head for the top that i found in an amusement park of all places years ago. Its technically a walking stick but it's tall for most people so i consider it more stave-like
It's a carved staff that my brothers and sisters (two of each) carved for me from a twisted vine wrapped branch, the head piece is just the twisted forked knot. I've got a crown royal bag (it's got inside the deck of many things) hanging from it, and the paper is a prop piece of parchment that I used in a campaign that warned the adventurers that the cult of vecna was growing in numbers.
Like the big ass vines you see out in the woods? Never seen that they leave indentations like that, that's pretty bitchin. So the head piece is just a natural formation also you mean or?
It is just occurring to me this is where Mordecai and Rigby from Regular Show got their names
yah
Nice breakdown
I just hope WotC doesn’t screw it all up
hope? hahahahahahahahahaha
I think he started shaving his head in the 3e Living Greyhawk era and Expedition to Greyhawk Ruins, I think it's one of those "new beginnings" mid-life crisis kind of haircut. The previous "Arc" from Greyhawk which was the Greyhawk Wars/From the Ashes story line from 2e was a really dark time for Oerth as a cambion demigod Iuz invaded countries with his demon army and allies, and the Circle of Eight was occupied reviving the members that were slain by Vecna. At the end of the Greyhawk Wars at the treaty signing, Rary of The Circle of Eight betrayed them and killed many of its members for he disagreed with neutrality in the war and that the quarrelsome circle was too ineffective. At the same time "Robilar", a trusted adventuring friend of Mordy and the circle sacked the castles of reviving and cloning components of those killed. Basically, Mordy and the eight went through some rough shit at that time, was called out and betrayed by two friends, and probably had to re-evaluate a lot in a mid-life crisis.
I'm gonna give this comment some high praise, I'd wager the head shaving was brought on exactly due to "mid-life crisis". Combine that with his own mind-wipe spell that he cast upon himself.. yeah.. rough times indeed haha
I’d prefer to have seen Dalamar, El, and Mord for the upcoming adventure. Great vid on Mord!
And those three would have been the original wizards three.
when does the change in look come? is that after Gary's fallout with the company?
AD&D AC 1 is amazing for a mage ! OMG
hehe there is a section in the module that expressly tells the DM to inform the players that should they choose to use the prerolled characters in it, to understand that because they are legendary that they have abilities that normal player characters may not have (like knowing all spells from 1st to 6th level) or by having such good AC.
My elf fighter/magic user mocks his AC 1.
As more and more stuff was written about Mordenkainen in later editions, I feel that his moral characterization began to slip more and more. Ever since 3rd edition, where so much of his actions feel like they are centered on maintaining tyrannies and violent struggles solely to fulfill his own self-diagnosed "need for balance", I don't feel comfortable putting him as anything other than Chaotic Evil (which I did in Manual of the Planes 5e)
See.. that's where I can see him as well.. (in later editions - which is why I also chose that he reminds me of Ming, not just in looks but also in thought processes). Makes me really curious how he will come across in Vecna Eve of Ruin.
@@gamemasters About eight years ago, I attended the panel of an award-winning Marvel Comics writer who talked about a "Moral Gravity Well" around certain headlining characters where authors are reluctant to question the actions of any protagonist with enough brand recognition (Captain America was the example provided). I feel like Mordenkainen forms such a gravity well in contemporary D&D, seeing as his name and image is so intimately tied to the game's images. In all likelihood, WotC will bend over backwards to conceal, justify, or outright rewrite the character's history and ideology when he shows up in Vecna. Heck, I'd be surprised if they mention anything about the Circle of Eight.
I prefer Morden with the full head of hair-look...
Not too fond of his more modern "pulp evil sorcerer" look...
Anyway...
Im sure whatever we get will be brief, uninformative, and ultimately lackluster in story and lore... because WotC don't really care about that stuff.
...which is a shame, because they are in the WRONG business to not be focusing on stories and histories and lore... It's like a video game developer of RPG's who actively hates writing story... -_-
that's kindav the beauty of it tho, it gives those of us that ARE creative a blank canvas. :)