Hup, missed the Uranachs! Though, they are not really rilmani, but dragons from Dragon #321. Concordant Dragons are the race of planar dragons found on the Outlands, and it would indeed be more appropriate to treat them as of rilmani than of dragonkind, even though their purpose connects them to both. Their mission among dragons is much the same as argenachs' among humanoids - they ensue that no side of cosmic conflict will predominate over other, while ensuing dragonkind's existence. Known as Uranachs to rilmani, they work in much the same way and cooperate with each other to achieve their ideal of neutrality. Covered in clunky, dark metallic scales exhuding a faint green glow (I guess they are uranium rilmani?), concordant dragons are stoud and sturdy beasts, relying on brute force when combat breaks out, as well as on their antithetical breath - planar energies expelled only hurt non-Neutral creatures, the further, the more dangerous.
Wow, I appreciate the effort put into this comment addition. Been playing for about a decade and it always astounds me there are still things in this game's universes I've never even remotely heard of!
@@Terry_and_Glenn yeah and it sucks to see so much of it get tossed aside and forgotten by WotC. Stuff like this needs far more spotlight than the typical dragon/demon/drow elf angle
You know I actually made my own Uranium themed Rilmani they are called Caelimachs named after Caelum the roman counterpart of Uranus the namesake of Uranium. They job is to keep watch over the Chaotic Planes of the multiverse similar to Abiomach's and the inner planes helping and hindering the forces of Chaos as needed. They have a warping aura that resembles radiation that can do nearly anything and can gain spells depending on the plane they set foot on For example gaining Bull's Strength on Ysgard or being able to use Control winds while on Pandemonium.
A Rilmani, an angel and an inevitable get into an argument. After an hour everyone listening decides the lower planes don't sound so bad. Bloody bureaucrats. 🤣
The Rilmani are said to guard the Conclave of the Gods when the Powers themselves meet in the center of the Outlands, where even godly power is diminished
The Rilmani are the perfect backstop for those occasions when your players make choices that screw up the campaign or the dice derail their efforts to carry the campaign to the desired conclusion. They can help or hinder anyone in their efforts to preserve the balance and they don't owe an explanation to any other faction in the multiverse regarding the actions they take. Whether the party leans good or evil, chaotic or lawful in its goals, the Rilmani can help or hinder them according to the wishes of the DM. That makes them a very handy tool in the DM's bag of tricks.
Considering the numerous threats to the multiverse, whether it's the machinations of fiends, wars between gods and primordials, multi-plane spanning empires, to say nothing of the threat of Tharizdun, you can definitely understand the rilmani concluding that "you all suck, bust everybody." Since their domain is closest to the Spire and Sigil, I've always suspected that the rilmani have something to do with the Lady of Pain. I'm sure that if there is a connection, though, they'll never let that info out.
You know what I love about your channel? I was watching your Deck of Many Things video looking for ideas for my Planescape game, and you offhandedly mentioned the rilmani. Did some reading and searched them up and, lo and behold, you've got a video on them too! An endless font of lore and ideas.
Balance and neutrality can sometimes be hard to maintain. Some might see it as “I have no strong feelings or opinions on anything” But these guys just seem to go another way the attitude of “if we see some thing too good, or too evil, or too lawful/ chaotic. Destroy it all.” Get rid of the extreme ends of the spectrums is a very hard line approach to being neutral. That or the idea “we will keep to ourselves and not bother anyone else, unless they are not neutral enough “
I have a question about the deities in d&d. I know that perception shapes reality so here goes. How much influence do mortal creatures have over the gods & their divine portfolios? In nwn2 mask of the betrayer, the wood man speaks of how ancient he is & how he's faced many spiriteaters seeking to devour his life force & how as long as the forest endures he, the wood man, will endure. Then he says roughly quoting, "I remember when mielikki and lerue were savage matrons of the hunt, before the dreams of mortals tempered them into docile things". If what he said is true, and I doubt he's lying to save himself, how much influence do mortals have over deities and their forms & mindsets? In baldur's gate 2 with amauntor you see what happens when people loss faith in a deity. So when a people, as a large enough group, believe a deity is or should be different then the god or goddess is, what happens? Do they shift to match their worshipers beliefs? Also, I was rewatching your video on tieflings, my favorite race next to drow, and you said they became a playable race in 4.0. I dont know if it applies but, in nwn2, which is based on 3.5 rules, you could create a tiefling char.
If you watch my video on Petitioners, it answers the core of this question. Gods grow by the addition of petitioners directly to them.. they merge as the petitioners souls are refined to the point they match that of the god, and become that god. Gods are collective entities, not just individuals.
I would say their beliefs change based on their followers, however, if their followers change to a point where it goes against their portfolios, they will not change (and probably smite the followers).
Wait, they’re responsible for keeping literally everything in balance? If that’s the case, why aren’t they more well known thanks to their massive influence on the D&D multiverse overall?
Okay now we I can check that off my list of videos I'm still waiting for all that's left are the Sharn and Changelings and we're all set. Also I am glad that you finally got a chance to give a devoted video to the Rilmani out of all the planar races these guys are easily the most fascinating and difficult to get proper information on so I knew you would have the reaserch material and mental capacity to contextualise these guys into an understandable explanation.
Cuprilac's have taken out significantly stronger Pit Fiends. They have the right to be cocky. I house rule that if a planar creature is summoned to the prime material, a rilmani gates to the same world
If each individual is a manifestation of the multiverses thoughts and the Rilmani are making sure one thought doesn't override the others or for the multiverse to have too many conflicting ones, aren't they just keeping the multiverse from making up their minds?
In my games, in the outlands, day & night change like flipping a light switch. The gate towns are in the 9th ring where 9th level magic works fine. There's rumored to be more rings beyond the 9th, but if a traveler turns around they'll be back at the 9th ring
Now im thinking of conspiracies on the larger powers being in the know. Such as Asmodeaus well aware of the Rilmani and their efforts to keep the blood war in a stalemate
Is the mirror library mentioned the same as the great library mentioned in the text for the great library of the outlands from the illurian 3.5 monster maneuls?
My local library where I grew up had a copy of the Manual of the Planes (in the non-fiction section lol). I've long loved stuff like this! I remember reading about these guys in a 3.5 monster manual, but they seemed really boring.
Very interesting. I can see why these come up in conversation often. The silent power at the center of everything. I can see how the fight between law-chaos has allowed them to carve out a strong position of neutrality. A better focus on them (in the literature) is definitely warranted. QUESTION/COMMENT: So if 5E is continues to move away from the strict alignment system, I can see why WIZARDS may have put the Rilmani aside. Probably inconvenient to explain "neutral" in terms of good vs evil.
1st video uploaded since I subscribed, and the thumbnail already has me confused. I might have to start referring to this as my bi-weekly dose of "...what?"
The Rilmani sound like what happens when you take humans (most notably primal ones) and just make them a fantasy race based on resistances. Edit: I wonder what Ao thinks of them. Plus, the spellweavers must be their mortal nemesis. 2nd edit for that art of my man the wife-thief of the century, Lancelot. Also I'm kind of interested that they say the Multiverse isn't broken but ignore the fact it was able to get to a point where they felt they needed to do something about it. That implies it was broken when they entered the library, and that there is a version of it where it wouldn't be such a mess at all...
for some reason this made me think of the idea of vedalken as a planetouched race like aasimar and tieflings, but for these guys tell me if i'm being insane, but
@@AJPickett i've had the realization that while vedalken skew towards law, like. they are perfection-seekers of reduced emotional capacity like modrons, aloof and knowledgeable bald humanoids like rilmani, and... uh... amphibious like slaadi.
Sounds like they could be sprinkled into your settings game lore for some events that arent fully explained. A Rilmani could have slipped information through indirect means to the leader of the gith to help her topple the illithid empire.
Have you ever done a video on slaad lords, they are a interesting group of creatures and would be interesting to learn more about them, they could even be a possible patron for a chaotic warlock.
i was going through watchers keep in baldurs gate 2 and ran into a bunch of these guys guarding the final seal and was wondering what they were. thank you so much for the vid. its nice to know the lore of the stuff in game.
I think this is the most inspired I have been. I have considered tier 3 and 4 campaign situations with deities, primordials, and dragons, but what's beyond that? I think I have found The Beyond. Thank you.
Ao must really love the humanoid shape. There are just so many humanoids... woof. Instead of Dungeons and Dragons they aught to name it Heaven, Hell, and Humanoids, given how much more those things seem to matter.
@@AJPickett "*Just* an overgod" ;P If he wants it one way, that's how he has it! I mean, isn't he the boss of many and most multiversal gods? Doesn't make that make him a multiversal overgod? And if this love of things that are basically slightly funny looking humans extends beyond Ao, that's even wackier tbh.
In a very real sense you could argue that the widespread nature of humanoids is actually coming from someone higher up the chain of command, which in reality is literally the DM (and to a varying extent whoever is writing the published materials used, depending on how closely a given DM sticks to official content). It's safe to say that most people playing D&D are human and most humans can best relate to humanoids, not just in characterization but also just in being able to conceptualize what their lives and actions might be like, so most D&D tables are going to be heavily biased towards stories and settings featuring fuckloads of humanoids.
@@TheSquareOnes Just boring is all - especially for Outsiders, which I'd argue are more interesting when they're alien. I don't really invest into fantasy worlds to not be surprised by what I find, personally. Seriously - humans are more diverse than this and we're much less functionally different. I struggle to suspend my disbelief more that these Rilmani can be so mundane given what they are. Sometimes DnD is pretty creative - other times like this they're clearly just making fluff to sell books.
I wonder if the library discussed here influenced a few of the SCPs like SCP-1986, SCP-2177, and SCP-4001 Especially SCP-4001: www.scpwiki.com/scp-4001
I understand seeing some value in keeping the 9 alignments in balance but honestly i find it odd that they or most anyone is willing to tolerate the omnicidal cancer that is the abyss.
@@nicholasbrosseau6035 True, but a big part of what devils are allowed to do is so they can combat demons. Eliminate the demons and im certain there are stipulations on the contract to limit how well they can spread their influence.
With them being metal themed, I wonder if they have even higher beings akin to God’s that are based on platinum, and I wonder what mixed castes would be like, such as mixed metals like electrum.
I actually came up with a Platinum themed rilmani called a Parvamach after Parva the latin word for small in reference to the etymology of Platinum as Platina is spanish for small silver. they basically serve as the Liasons of the Rilmani to upper planes keeping watch on the forces of good both working with them to keep evil in check and simultaneously sabotaging them as well which has made them even more reviled than the Argemach's. In addition they also serve the role of preachers of Balance and true neutrality to mortals hoping to turn them to the side of Balance in the hope of making more RIlmani when they become petitioners.
"So.... The Rilmani are like Jim Carry's version of the Grinch with a different skin. Just... as a species, to the multiverse." ".... What..?!!?" "Not really good, not really evil. Most people dislikes, mistrusts, or has their own made-up nonsense about them. They keep themselves isolated, but always watching everyone. They dislike just about everyone equally. When the universe makes enough noise, they'll sneak in disguised and cause a bunch of background chaos in the hopes of bringing down 'everyone's mood'. Can pull of insane capers to change the status quo and get away with it. Has aLot more smarts, strength and power than anyone would ever give them credit for... Like... if the Grinch didn't change his mind, he'd be exactly like the Rilmani." " .... wtf....." "I bet the Rilmani keep pets. Like dogs. Pure neutral good boys."
I wonder if the Kemeril have anything to do with the LaShay? In my own home game version of the realms the LaShay are to the Eladrin what the Eladrin are to the Elves what the Elves are to Humans, and Coroalon was one of their number who rose to godhood, like how in my version Anam Allfather was one of the primordial titans who defected to the side of the gods, and tried to recreate his brethren as the lesser titans, giant gods, and giantkin themselves I kinda wanna do a D&D setting where it's during the early days of the multiverse, with the Aboleth being a dying breed, the LaShay and Titans being almost like the Elves and Dwarves/Giants of the current era, and stuff like that
The LeShay are like the Galactus of D&D. Survivors of a previous timeline that has long since been overwritten, so from their perspective, they were a part of the multiverse 'before' the current one.
Nice. You guys are hitting on one of my Top 5 Faves. The LaShay. Just awesome. Powerful as hell. So old, knowing so much. Standing outside of everything. Then, interacting for a while, as whatever role they want to take, because they are bored. Basically, it's like "Reality" is there video game. A bunch of entities in the classic "Godlike being walking the earth since forever" kind of thing. Elves to the 50th power.
An adventure where players need to get to the mirror library sounds like a great stealth adventure. Considering magic is not possible and non-Rilmani are not allowed it’d be quite the challenge.
The Kamarel, the Ancient Baatorians, the titans of Mithardir... Sure are a lot of outer-planar exemplar races that removed themselves from functional existence before souled beings began appearing in large numbers there
Yeah, if we most ignore the prime (which has its own stuff told via spelljammer lore mostly) we sort of have… ~the time before the great wheel ~The war with the Draeden ~the slow development of the planes so that they approach approximately modern configurations ~the war of law and chaos {which takes a huge amount of time and encompasses most major ancient events in specific settings… the coming of the Gods, the changes in the exemplars, etc} ~the current era Meanwhile the prime is like… ~the prime forms (during the war with the Draeden( ~aboleth and their creations dominate ~the war of law and chaos makes subtle changes to the prime, and eventually the gods show up ~aboleth lose dominance, 'true ancestors' spread humanoid life to many prime worlds ~the oldest spelljammer empires and races take hold ~the juna show up and terraform prime worlds, opening up even more habitable places ~the syllix and chitin dominate known space for a while ~recognizable modern races start having significant presences in the wider prime, with the 'aid' of the syllix and arcane ~the illithid appear and have a period of dominance ~when the illithid fall, the modern races ascend ~the first unhuman war marginalizes the influence of goblinoids, orcs, and giantkin in the larger Prime, setting the stage for the modern era of Spelljamming
THANK you! I've also felt that the rilmani have been neglected. Btw, you have a link to the Planescape Wiki you mentioned at 1:90? I could only find the Planescape Torment Wiki. Edit: NEver mind found it
This is the second time I've heard about the... Draydon? Accords, with the first time being a mention somewhere that Vecna was also a signatory on it and it being some kind of a compact to gather obscure magical lore in case of cataclysms? I've tried to Google about the thing but haven't had any success, so I was wondering if it was possible to give some pointers on where to find out more about it? (Or maybe get a video of there's enough information around? :P)
mimir.planewalker.com/forum/so-when-exactly-was-lawchaos-war?page=1 Here, take a look at the sort of message boards I browse through, looking for references to magazine articles, books and such. You will learn much.
@@AJPickett What the Obyrith did, but again, and with an alignment that doesn't currently exist on the law-chaos and good-evil axis. As for what that alignment would be, we're talking about the Far Realm so it could be something we can't even comprehend right now, as long as it's opposed to everything that exists in the multiverse as we know it. Possibilities include opposition to the existence of cause and effect, change, causality, entropic time, etc. Or opposition to the existence of complex interactions between fundamental particles. Or a rejection of color in favor of some sort of anti-color. Or a sort of reality where math doesn't work. Or the bacon-necktie axis.
Thanks for this one, your work is much appreciated as always. It gives me a whole new perspective/understanding of DND's major planar races. My favorites are The Aasimon (loved your ecology of Angels/Archons btw) & Celestial Eladrin (could you do a similar ecology video on them?). Had never heard of the Rilmani though, very interesting group.
@@AJPickett ah so nirvana since a decent amount of magic gods are LN. What about godless PC's. But they take True neuturality to core? In some mythologies monks do go to nirvana, I asumet its similar with that. So clockwork nirvana of mechanus may take them.
@@AJPickett fair 3.5e has some mentions of godless clerics. It says somrthing like "Cleric don't have to worship gods" Its morr like an oath whch are powerful in d&d They worship concepts such as knowledge, healing, goodness, entropy. Ect. Or maybr aligment so LE, CG. Ect. To exterrme extends. I think an godless cleric is a fun idea. Ahriman doesn't eat all the atheists :p
This info was all amazing Epic Champaign fuel, thanks AJ! But now I'm thinking.... I want to research more about the Outlands because they sound incredible 🤔
@@kreeecher9702 Well, I just think the gods of dnd as being kinda sketchy, even when they are of the good alignment. Might as well let a species of militant neutrality do the work of keeping it all in check. They seem to want to do it and who else can we trust to perform the job? The devil's, who would enslave all? The celestials, who suffer from being so far removed from day to day morality they sin against those they mean to help? None are better than the aggravating buggers so I don't see a point in debating their involvement.
I will, I will, it takes quite a lot of explanation that anyone who is not familiar with the full set of D&D basic would simply not understand, so I have to work up to it slowly and carefully.
The good outsiders would be against that. And they’ll stop the evil ones from trying. Plus there’s the issue of losing magic/supernatural abilities going at them on their home turf.
Ypu mentipn one tower from a video game and all of the sudden I have some more damaran lore to pick through just from other events going on in that same year. Lots of damn demon lords showing up in this research trail. Cool to know that mid-to-high cr fiends are free license to drop in vague rilmani creatures of matching and lesser cr
Algo boosting comment. edit: wow that's a substantial species with a lot of influence that I've never heard of. unseen keepers of balance, perpetuators of stalemates? I like them and hate them lol
Hup, missed the Uranachs! Though, they are not really rilmani, but dragons from Dragon #321.
Concordant Dragons are the race of planar dragons found on the Outlands, and it would indeed be more appropriate to treat them as of rilmani than of dragonkind, even though their purpose connects them to both. Their mission among dragons is much the same as argenachs' among humanoids - they ensue that no side of cosmic conflict will predominate over other, while ensuing dragonkind's existence. Known as Uranachs to rilmani, they work in much the same way and cooperate with each other to achieve their ideal of neutrality. Covered in clunky, dark metallic scales exhuding a faint green glow (I guess they are uranium rilmani?), concordant dragons are stoud and sturdy beasts, relying on brute force when combat breaks out, as well as on their antithetical breath - planar energies expelled only hurt non-Neutral creatures, the further, the more dangerous.
I did, thanks for the info!
Wow, I appreciate the effort put into this comment addition. Been playing for about a decade and it always astounds me there are still things in this game's universes I've never even remotely heard of!
@@Terry_and_Glenn yeah and it sucks to see so much of it get tossed aside and forgotten by WotC. Stuff like this needs far more spotlight than the typical dragon/demon/drow elf angle
You know I actually made my own Uranium themed Rilmani they are called Caelimachs named after Caelum the roman counterpart of Uranus the namesake of Uranium. They job is to keep watch over the Chaotic Planes of the multiverse similar to Abiomach's and the inner planes helping and hindering the forces of Chaos as needed. They have a warping aura that resembles radiation that can do nearly anything and can gain spells depending on the plane they set foot on For example gaining Bull's Strength on Ysgard or being able to use Control winds while on Pandemonium.
A Rilmani, an angel and an inevitable get into an argument. After an hour everyone listening decides the lower planes don't sound so bad. Bloody bureaucrats. 🤣
I think the by product of that argument is how you get lawyers that's also a politician.
@@pikachufantastic I think that's how you get a dead Rilmani. Angels and Invitables are beings of law.
So many futurama references...filthy neutrals.
I HAVE NO STRONG FEELINGS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!!
If I die, tell my wife I said hello
I love falling asleep to your videos. They're educational and your voice is serene!
I often do the same
The Rilmani are said to guard the Conclave of the Gods when the Powers themselves meet in the center of the Outlands, where even godly power is diminished
The Rilmani are the perfect backstop for those occasions when your players make choices that screw up the campaign or the dice derail their efforts to carry the campaign to the desired conclusion. They can help or hinder anyone in their efforts to preserve the balance and they don't owe an explanation to any other faction in the multiverse regarding the actions they take. Whether the party leans good or evil, chaotic or lawful in its goals, the Rilmani can help or hinder them according to the wishes of the DM. That makes them a very handy tool in the DM's bag of tricks.
Considering the numerous threats to the multiverse, whether it's the machinations of fiends, wars between gods and primordials, multi-plane spanning empires, to say nothing of the threat of Tharizdun, you can definitely understand the rilmani concluding that "you all suck, bust everybody."
Since their domain is closest to the Spire and Sigil, I've always suspected that the rilmani have something to do with the Lady of Pain. I'm sure that if there is a connection, though, they'll never let that info out.
Like the same connection an angel has to their patron God?
@@agsilverradio2225 Perhaps like that. Or maybe like the connection between Primus and all modrons, which is kind of the same thing? Maybe?
Lol at the picture of Yolandi as a dnd species.
Pure fan service :)
You know what I love about your channel? I was watching your Deck of Many Things video looking for ideas for my Planescape game, and you offhandedly mentioned the rilmani. Did some reading and searched them up and, lo and behold, you've got a video on them too! An endless font of lore and ideas.
Tony Diterlizzi cemented in my mind the weirdness of these guys. Whenever i see them portrayed by someone else im like, "nah"
Those hats... nothing says "I work within a bureaucratic nightmare" like outlandish hats.
@@AJPickett so true. Maybe he's on to something....
10:51 I believe this is also the origin of the word "plumbing" as pipes used to be made out of lead.
It is known.
Balance and neutrality can sometimes be hard to maintain. Some might see it as “I have no strong feelings or opinions on anything” But these guys just seem to go another way the attitude of “if we see some thing too good, or too evil, or too lawful/ chaotic. Destroy it all.”
Get rid of the extreme ends of the spectrums is a very hard line approach to being neutral. That or the idea “we will keep to ourselves and not bother anyone else, unless they are not neutral enough “
Rilmani be in the Blood War like "Well this worked better than expected"
Oh, This one's a biggin. Lemme get breakfast!🤩
In TSF Krillin Voice _"Thats what she said!"_
@@Im-Not-a-Dog Senzu bean!🤣❤️
🤣
Didn't expect Yolandi from Die Antwoord to pop up today.
I'm not displeased.
There are a few things one never expects... Die Antwood, and the Spanish Inquisition.
I have a question about the deities in d&d. I know that perception shapes reality so here goes. How much influence do mortal creatures have over the gods & their divine portfolios? In nwn2 mask of the betrayer, the wood man speaks of how ancient he is & how he's faced many spiriteaters seeking to devour his life force & how as long as the forest endures he, the wood man, will endure. Then he says roughly quoting, "I remember when mielikki and lerue were savage matrons of the hunt, before the dreams of mortals tempered them into docile things". If what he said is true, and I doubt he's lying to save himself, how much influence do mortals have over deities and their forms & mindsets? In baldur's gate 2 with amauntor you see what happens when people loss faith in a deity. So when a people, as a large enough group, believe a deity is or should be different then the god or goddess is, what happens? Do they shift to match their worshipers beliefs? Also, I was rewatching your video on tieflings, my favorite race next to drow, and you said they became a playable race in 4.0. I dont know if it applies but, in nwn2, which is based on 3.5 rules, you could create a tiefling char.
If you watch my video on Petitioners, it answers the core of this question. Gods grow by the addition of petitioners directly to them.. they merge as the petitioners souls are refined to the point they match that of the god, and become that god. Gods are collective entities, not just individuals.
I would say their beliefs change based on their followers, however, if their followers change to a point where it goes against their portfolios, they will not change (and probably smite the followers).
Wait, they’re responsible for keeping literally everything in balance? If that’s the case, why aren’t they more well known thanks to their massive influence on the D&D multiverse overall?
Because they do it quietly.
@@AJPickett Nah, I mean well known to the D&D playerbase.
@@purplehaze2358 They're REALLY good at it, that's why.
Okay now we I can check that off my list of videos I'm still waiting for all that's left are the Sharn and Changelings and we're all set. Also I am glad that you finally got a chance to give a devoted video to the Rilmani out of all the planar races these guys are easily the most fascinating and difficult to get proper information on so I knew you would have the reaserch material and mental capacity to contextualise these guys into an understandable explanation.
Cuprilac's have taken out significantly stronger Pit Fiends. They have the right to be cocky. I house rule that if a planar creature is summoned to the prime material, a rilmani gates to the same world
If each individual is a manifestation of the multiverses thoughts and the Rilmani are making sure one thought doesn't override the others or for the multiverse to have too many conflicting ones, aren't they just keeping the multiverse from making up their minds?
Oh I suggest you take that up with a Rilmani NPC and have a lively debate with your DM in character!
Careful rumination is key to making a decision with confidence. Can't allow one shrieking thought derail the process.
This video brought to mind the Neutrals from futurama. "If I dont survive, tell my wife...Hello" "My gut tells me...maybe"
What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?
@@tomkerruish2982 i have no opinion on this whatsoever
In my games, in the outlands, day & night change like flipping a light switch. The gate towns are in the 9th ring where 9th level magic works fine. There's rumored to be more rings beyond the 9th, but if a traveler turns around they'll be back at the 9th ring
I think it works simmularly in the Peceifull Kingdoms of Archadia too.
Now im thinking of conspiracies on the larger powers being in the know. Such as Asmodeaus well aware of the Rilmani and their efforts to keep the blood war in a stalemate
How course he is. Do you believe he doesn't profit from the stalemate?
They are said to guard the conclave of the gods when they meet at the base of the spire, where even godly power is neutralized
Are you planning to talk about Dragonlance's Phanaton at some point? Any species that battles Giant Spiders is a good lot in my book
I have them on a list somewhere :)
The Rilmani are clearly based on the Myth of Minerals from Plato's Republic. Interesting.
Is the mirror library mentioned the same as the great library mentioned in the text for the great library of the outlands from the illurian 3.5 monster maneuls?
Yes.
Ahhh, hearing *geas* pronounced correctly warms my heart
Thank you! I shouldn't need praise for that, but... I do dammit. 😂
My local library where I grew up had a copy of the Manual of the Planes (in the non-fiction section lol). I've long loved stuff like this! I remember reading about these guys in a 3.5 monster manual, but they seemed really boring.
Well of course, where would you have an Atlas?
Very interesting. I can see why these come up in conversation often. The silent power at the center of everything. I can see how the fight between law-chaos has allowed them to carve out a strong position of neutrality. A better focus on them (in the literature) is definitely warranted. QUESTION/COMMENT: So if 5E is continues to move away from the strict alignment system, I can see why WIZARDS may have put the Rilmani aside. Probably inconvenient to explain "neutral" in terms of good vs evil.
Even without alignment, their reasons are fairly logical
Love the longer vids....so much intel!
I like the Outlands, and how wildly disconcerting it would be to get lost there.
Awsome video brother! Love the deep dive in nerdy lore.
1st video uploaded since I subscribed, and the thumbnail already has me confused. I might have to start referring to this as my bi-weekly dose of "...what?"
The Rilmani sound like what happens when you take humans (most notably primal ones) and just make them a fantasy race based on resistances.
Edit: I wonder what Ao thinks of them. Plus, the spellweavers must be their mortal nemesis.
2nd edit for that art of my man the wife-thief of the century, Lancelot. Also I'm kind of interested that they say the Multiverse isn't broken but ignore the fact it was able to get to a point where they felt they needed to do something about it. That implies it was broken when they entered the library, and that there is a version of it where it wouldn't be such a mess at all...
Thank you.
The lord's of neutrality, let's go!
6:24-6:34 Hahahah, WHAT?!?
It's a beige alert! If I don't survive, tell my wife "hello."
33:00 why are angels and eladrin in conflict? And how are the guardinal stopping it?
Good question! My research continues.
Why wouldn't elves and celestials be in conflict? Both are self assured they know the right path.
@@jacobfreeman5444 don't all races tho
Wish there was more on Kamerel but I cant seem to find much.
Absolutely fascinating people, thank you! 👍
for some reason this made me think of the idea of vedalken as a planetouched race like aasimar and tieflings, but for these guys
tell me if i'm being insane, but
they kind of remind me of the beings created by magic.
@@AJPickett i've had the realization that while vedalken skew towards law, like. they are perfection-seekers of reduced emotional capacity like modrons, aloof and knowledgeable bald humanoids like rilmani, and... uh... amphibious like slaadi.
Klingon Librarians...Better remember to return the library books, and don't mess up their system.
Edit : Mix in a fair amount of Romulan blood.
And the Rilmani are centrists, which seems more fitting for exemplars of true-neutral.
Sounds like they could be sprinkled into your settings game lore for some events that arent fully explained. A Rilmani could have slipped information through indirect means to the leader of the gith to help her topple the illithid empire.
Have you ever done a video on slaad lords, they are a interesting group of creatures and would be interesting to learn more about them, they could even be a possible patron for a chaotic warlock.
I have a video on Ygorl so far.
"Adjustments".
Would a group of Argonax then be an.... Adjustment Bureau?
heh! You could say that.
An almost 40 minute AJ video. Surely must have done well to deserve this blessing 😃
i was going through watchers keep in baldurs gate 2 and ran into a bunch of these guys guarding the final seal and was wondering what they were. thank you so much for the vid. its nice to know the lore of the stuff in game.
I think this is the most inspired I have been.
I have considered tier 3 and 4 campaign situations with deities, primordials, and dragons, but what's beyond that?
I think I have found The Beyond.
Thank you.
Ao must really love the humanoid shape. There are just so many humanoids... woof. Instead of Dungeons and Dragons they aught to name it Heaven, Hell, and Humanoids, given how much more those things seem to matter.
Ao just controls stuff in the Realmspace Sphere, he is not a multiversal god, he is just an Overgod.
@@AJPickett "*Just* an overgod"
;P If he wants it one way, that's how he has it!
I mean, isn't he the boss of many and most multiversal gods? Doesn't make that make him a multiversal overgod?
And if this love of things that are basically slightly funny looking humans extends beyond Ao, that's even wackier tbh.
In a very real sense you could argue that the widespread nature of humanoids is actually coming from someone higher up the chain of command, which in reality is literally the DM (and to a varying extent whoever is writing the published materials used, depending on how closely a given DM sticks to official content). It's safe to say that most people playing D&D are human and most humans can best relate to humanoids, not just in characterization but also just in being able to conceptualize what their lives and actions might be like, so most D&D tables are going to be heavily biased towards stories and settings featuring fuckloads of humanoids.
@@TheSquareOnes Just boring is all - especially for Outsiders, which I'd argue are more interesting when they're alien. I don't really invest into fantasy worlds to not be surprised by what I find, personally.
Seriously - humans are more diverse than this and we're much less functionally different. I struggle to suspend my disbelief more that these Rilmani can be so mundane given what they are.
Sometimes DnD is pretty creative - other times like this they're clearly just making fluff to sell books.
The Iron and copper Rilmani sound like militant-centrists. ;)
I wonder if the library discussed here influenced a few of the SCPs like SCP-1986, SCP-2177, and SCP-4001
Especially SCP-4001: www.scpwiki.com/scp-4001
Probably have a few eyes on the wanderers library....
I understand seeing some value in keeping the 9 alignments in balance but honestly i find it odd that they or most anyone is willing to tolerate the omnicidal cancer that is the abyss.
Maybe it's to keep the lords of the nine hells preoccupied without directly becoming involved?
@@nicholasbrosseau6035 True, but a big part of what devils are allowed to do is so they can combat demons. Eliminate the demons and im certain there are stipulations on the contract to limit how well they can spread their influence.
With them being metal themed, I wonder if they have even higher beings akin to God’s that are based on platinum, and I wonder what mixed castes would be like, such as mixed metals like electrum.
Other planes and planets have different mixes of metals.
I actually came up with a Platinum themed rilmani called a Parvamach after Parva the latin word for small in reference to the etymology of Platinum as Platina is spanish for small silver. they basically serve as the Liasons of the Rilmani to upper planes keeping watch on the forces of good both working with them to keep evil in check and simultaneously sabotaging them as well which has made them even more reviled than the Argemach's. In addition they also serve the role of preachers of Balance and true neutrality to mortals hoping to turn them to the side of Balance in the hope of making more RIlmani when they become petitioners.
Excellent intro
"So.... The Rilmani are like Jim Carry's version of the Grinch with a different skin. Just... as a species, to the multiverse."
".... What..?!!?"
"Not really good, not really evil. Most people dislikes, mistrusts, or has their own made-up nonsense about them. They keep themselves isolated, but always watching everyone. They dislike just about everyone equally. When the universe makes enough noise, they'll sneak in disguised and cause a bunch of background chaos in the hopes of bringing down 'everyone's mood'. Can pull of insane capers to change the status quo and get away with it. Has aLot more smarts, strength and power than anyone would ever give them credit for... Like... if the Grinch didn't change his mind, he'd be exactly like the Rilmani."
" .... wtf....."
"I bet the Rilmani keep pets. Like dogs. Pure neutral good boys."
Thats... one way to look at it.
I wonder if the Kemeril have anything to do with the LaShay?
In my own home game version of the realms the LaShay are to the Eladrin what the Eladrin are to the Elves what the Elves are to Humans, and Coroalon was one of their number who rose to godhood, like how in my version Anam Allfather was one of the primordial titans who defected to the side of the gods, and tried to recreate his brethren as the lesser titans, giant gods, and giantkin themselves
I kinda wanna do a D&D setting where it's during the early days of the multiverse, with the Aboleth being a dying breed, the LaShay and Titans being almost like the Elves and Dwarves/Giants of the current era, and stuff like that
The LeShay are like the Galactus of D&D. Survivors of a previous timeline that has long since been overwritten, so from their perspective, they were a part of the multiverse 'before' the current one.
Nice. You guys are hitting on one of my Top 5 Faves.
The LaShay.
Just awesome.
Powerful as hell. So old, knowing so much. Standing outside of everything.
Then, interacting for a while, as whatever role they want to take, because they are bored.
Basically, it's like "Reality" is there video game.
A bunch of entities in the classic "Godlike being walking the earth since forever" kind of thing.
Elves to the 50th power.
@@atilax6452 this Elf's elven power level is OVER 9000!
@@AJPickett - "on a par with the Oldest Dragons"...
can you please do a video on the one Good Drow Goddess Eilistraee
she is going to get some attention, yes.
@@AJPickett Oh good shes one of my favorite Goddess and is so underated
An adventure where players need to get to the mirror library sounds like a great stealth adventure. Considering magic is not possible and non-Rilmani are not allowed it’d be quite the challenge.
The Kamarel, the Ancient Baatorians, the titans of Mithardir... Sure are a lot of outer-planar exemplar races that removed themselves from functional existence before souled beings began appearing in large numbers there
Indeed! D&D seems to have many different eras, the earliest of which we are only just starting to explore in more detail.
Yeah, if we most ignore the prime (which has its own stuff told via spelljammer lore mostly) we sort of have…
~the time before the great wheel
~The war with the Draeden
~the slow development of the planes so that they approach approximately modern configurations
~the war of law and chaos {which takes a huge amount of time and encompasses most major ancient events in specific settings… the coming of the Gods, the changes in the exemplars, etc}
~the current era
Meanwhile the prime is like…
~the prime forms (during the war with the Draeden(
~aboleth and their creations dominate
~the war of law and chaos makes subtle changes to the prime, and eventually the gods show up
~aboleth lose dominance, 'true ancestors' spread humanoid life to many prime worlds
~the oldest spelljammer empires and races take hold
~the juna show up and terraform prime worlds, opening up even more habitable places
~the syllix and chitin dominate known space for a while
~recognizable modern races start having significant presences in the wider prime, with the 'aid' of the syllix and arcane
~the illithid appear and have a period of dominance
~when the illithid fall, the modern races ascend
~the first unhuman war marginalizes the influence of goblinoids, orcs, and giantkin in the larger Prime, setting the stage for the modern era of Spelljamming
@@tylerannand3777 If you expanded on that and wrote up a PDF, I would pay for it 100%
@@AJPickett I mean... I do have a version of it (without very much detail on the spelljammer/prime side) on a google doc somewhere...
25:46 What are they doing to the scales???!?
Shifting... sorry, not a great time for my accent to silence a consonant.
I love the idea of Ferrumach Exotic Weapon Masters rushing out of a citadel wielding all sorts of random weapons.
If one comes at you with a sharpened chair... run.
THANK you! I've also felt that the rilmani have been neglected.
Btw, you have a link to the Planescape Wiki you mentioned at 1:90? I could only find the Planescape Torment Wiki.
Edit: NEver mind found it
This is the second time I've heard about the... Draydon? Accords, with the first time being a mention somewhere that Vecna was also a signatory on it and it being some kind of a compact to gather obscure magical lore in case of cataclysms?
I've tried to Google about the thing but haven't had any success, so I was wondering if it was possible to give some pointers on where to find out more about it?
(Or maybe get a video of there's enough information around? :P)
mimir.planewalker.com/forum/so-when-exactly-was-lawchaos-war?page=1 Here, take a look at the sort of message boards I browse through, looking for references to magazine articles, books and such. You will learn much.
@@AJPickett Aaah! Thank you so much!
Is there a rilmani for every element or just the metals? I want a Technetanach! Or A Californiach. Or an Einsteiniach! :3
I don't think they run quite like dragons in that regard, but I can see it being the way they would evolve if they got more official content.
I wonder how the Rilmani would react to something from the Far Realm bringing a new axis of alignment to the multiverse.
For example?
@@AJPickett What the Obyrith did, but again, and with an alignment that doesn't currently exist on the law-chaos and good-evil axis. As for what that alignment would be, we're talking about the Far Realm so it could be something we can't even comprehend right now, as long as it's opposed to everything that exists in the multiverse as we know it. Possibilities include opposition to the existence of cause and effect, change, causality, entropic time, etc. Or opposition to the existence of complex interactions between fundamental particles. Or a rejection of color in favor of some sort of anti-color. Or a sort of reality where math doesn't work. Or the bacon-necktie axis.
@@dracorex426 this... Is very thought provoking, thus excellent subject matter for a video.
Thanks for this one, your work is much appreciated as always. It gives me a whole new perspective/understanding of DND's major planar races. My favorites are The Aasimon (loved your ecology of Angels/Archons btw) & Celestial Eladrin (could you do a similar ecology video on them?).
Had never heard of the Rilmani though, very interesting group.
Could there be half rilmani? If so what would they be like?
Never say never, but not so far seen in official lore and I have no personal inclination to include that in my games. (unless I feel a need for it)
Wait, I thought you had been saying Romani. They live some groups . I pictures cosmic gypsies.
There are cosmic gypsies but they have a different name in spelljammer.
@@AJPickett the gypani right?
Where do true neutural mortal souls go? Since gods aren't takrn kindly on outland
Oh many of the planes will take neutral souls, for example, the gods of arcane knowledge welcome them.
@@AJPickett ah so nirvana since a decent amount of magic gods are LN.
What about godless PC's.
But they take True neuturality to core?
In some mythologies monks do go to nirvana, I asumet its similar with that.
So clockwork nirvana of mechanus may take them.
@@lorekeeper685 I've never played a godless player character in my life. :)
@@AJPickett fair 3.5e has some mentions of godless clerics. It says somrthing like "Cleric don't have to worship gods"
Its morr like an oath whch are powerful in d&d
They worship concepts such as knowledge, healing, goodness, entropy. Ect.
Or maybr aligment so LE, CG. Ect. To exterrme extends. I think an godless cleric is a fun idea.
Ahriman doesn't eat all the atheists :p
There are plenty of Gods and petitioner communities in the Outlands; just not particularly close to the spire
Omg i needed this for my campaign soooooo bad
Heeeey!!! Thanks AJ!!
Much needed. Much appreciated.
The Atilax is pacified.
26:45 Huh... Oddly, I never pictured a rilmani as the "cute monster girl" type.
They use polymorph, so, they can appear as all sorts of different things.
@@AJPickett Of... course...
Lol - I love the inclusion of Yolandi in the slideshow
Jo-burg Gansta! :D
This info was all amazing Epic Champaign fuel, thanks AJ! But now I'm thinking.... I want to research more about the Outlands because they sound incredible 🤔
Outlands video coming soon
@@AJPickett WOW!!!!! Awesome!!!!!! Thanks again!!!! 😱😱😱
Fascinating beings. Imagine being on the recieving side of their balancing is infuriating but ultimately they are correct.
found mordenkainen's fake account
@@kreeecher9702 Well, I just think the gods of dnd as being kinda sketchy, even when they are of the good alignment. Might as well let a species of militant neutrality do the work of keeping it all in check. They seem to want to do it and who else can we trust to perform the job? The devil's, who would enslave all? The celestials, who suffer from being so far removed from day to day morality they sin against those they mean to help? None are better than the aggravating buggers so I don't see a point in debating their involvement.
10:55 so is it called plumbing because the pipes used to be made out of lead?
So I hear.
I wonder if they have version control in the infinite library.
Huh, so they have a ridge on their skull going from their eyebrows to their hairline. It kind of reminds me of albino Klingons.
I love your long form explanations
Somebodies gotta do it :)
My planar knowledge grows Buwhahaha! Thanks for another one AJ.
Good video AJ
Wait, the what Accord? Like, about Draedens? Please elaborate.
I will, I will, it takes quite a lot of explanation that anyone who is not familiar with the full set of D&D basic would simply not understand, so I have to work up to it slowly and carefully.
@@AJPickett alright I'll be patient
The pic of yolandi visser from Die Antwoord fuckin sent me
Do know how spell the mirror race in beginning and can do lore on them?
"Kamarel" - I think they were only in Tales from the Infinite Staircase (AD&D) and Queen of the Demonweb Pits (3e).
@@aaroninfante-levy3612 ok thanks.
Rilmani are really underused indeed. Glad a video is given to them.
Part of me feels like the other Outsiders would've temporarily teamed up to exterminate these guys so that they can actually accomplish their goals.
The good outsiders would be against that. And they’ll stop the evil ones from trying. Plus there’s the issue of losing magic/supernatural abilities going at them on their home turf.
Ypu mentipn one tower from a video game and all of the sudden I have some more damaran lore to pick through just from other events going on in that same year.
Lots of damn demon lords showing up in this research trail. Cool to know that mid-to-high cr fiends are free license to drop in vague rilmani creatures of matching and lesser cr
Algo boosting comment.
edit: wow that's a substantial species with a lot of influence that I've never heard of. unseen keepers of balance, perpetuators of stalemates? I like them and hate them lol
Oh yeah I remember these guys from 3.5, they were neat
8:00 works in Switzerland. direct democracy of all citizens.
So would you say things get done swiftly by local city councils? ;D
Last time I was this early to a video carsus was still a apprentice mage
I miss the art from Planescape 2e.
"They don't like people walking up to them and talk to them. They think it's rude."
So I'm a plumbmack.
Gotcha.
Adding to my dnd playlist
Do you think the rilmani had any hand in the fall of the imaskar empire? Also excellent video as always!
Not as far as I know.
Cool dinner and a new video this day is ending great
Thank you! 👍🏼👍🏼
They remind me of vulcans...in attitude not appearance
very interesting, was always curious about them
Breky and lore.. Huzzah!