The time you are able to put into the study of dnd lore is truly awesome. The arcane shall now replace the veldican I was going to use in one of my campaigns I have going. I truly hope you can keep doing this as long as possible I tremendously enjoy your videos and will be watching as long as I play ttrpgs.
Me as a DM: You have now bought a space jammer from the Arcane with all the money you earned from your adventures. Now its time for some space adventures! The Player: Actually its called the Phlogiston. Me: (Staring intensely at the player) The Arcane are preventing you from leaving the port unless you pay the toll.
You attack or threaten an Arcane, and you / your body parts become an acceptable form of payment, and always remember, with the Arcane "It's nothing personal - it's just business"
Arcanes do certainly find their way beyond Prime Material. The sample adventure hub for the 3.5e Epic Level Handbook is the city of Union, which was created by arcanes of titular cartel in a demiplane to serve as a place where customers can engage with them more or less directly. With a solid number of money spent on construction, commodities, and advertising, Union has gotten a lot of attention and is one of the fastest-growing planar metropoli. It is bit of an upscale place, level-wise, and a number of powerful planar organizations and factions have set up shop there, notably Planar Cartographic Society, the Order of the Book, and others.
I never really did much with these guys and my campaign world had its own version of space travel (I created it before Spelljammer was published but I adapted much of that once it was). One of my players loved Spelljammer and the Arcane. He kept asking to play one. I kept saying I would think about it. So, his mage died one mission. Coincidentally, it was in space and his body drifted away (bleeding out on the way, he died far away, drifting through space). I home-brewed a player character version of the race and told him it will look a lot like his dead character. I told him it will be more of an Arcane child so I had to alter its stats. I told that player the other players will meet him next gaming session and the meeting will even be a surprise for him. The players finished their run and returned to the place they left to get their commission pay and file a body retrieve and revive clause to their guild commission. An arcane met them in the office instead of the guild officer. He had a box on the floor. He finished the business and said "Your body retrieval clause has been altered. You will instead receive a child and experiment of ours. We used the body as a template." He opened up the box and had that dead mage be an Arcane-like blue human with that race's hands. They had lots of question but all the Arcane did is pick up the box and say "You have eons to figure out the answers unless you are killed we will be watching but we will not intervene." To my pleasant surprise, that player loved it completely. He even kept playing the "I'm not even sure what I am anymore" card and the "I'm not sure if that is who I am anymore" card. He loved the enigma more than actual Arcanes. Even though his wounds never scarred again and tattoos never again took, he still had his old scars and tattoos. That player called his character's home-brewed race "demi-Arcane".
@@AJPickett Thanks!. I do my best to work with my players' ideas and imagination. I'm sure we can trade a lot of stories on that one. I fear I lost my creativity so all I have are memories of when I had it.
Spelljammer is a huge blindspot in my dnd education. I enjoyed this video and hope there will be more to come in the near future. Thanks for another one AJ.
Thats interesting how they have collective knowledge. Kind of like merchants in games like mystery dungeon or spelunky, if you steal from a merchant all the other merchants in the dungeon stop selling from you. This takes that trope but gives a good in lore reason for it.
There is a major reveal about the Arcane in *Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix 1* - Under the entry for the Reigar, It covers the creation, & theft of the first Spelljammer Helm. & how the Arcane basically use it to make Spelljamming helms. - Also Book 4 in the Cloakmaster Cycle, _The Radiant Dragon_ by Elaine Cunningham, has an entry that confirms the rumor lore about Arcane serving as Servitors for the Reigar aboard their Esthetic Ships, along with Helots (Golem constructs,) & Shakti wielding Lakshu (Female Jim'hadar,) the Shakti are small statue items that can be worn like an amulete, kind of like Orphen's Dragon Necklace, They turn into beast armor, or a hover bike, Very retro. I'd imagine seeing something like that on Classic power rangers, or saint seiya shiny armor. --- With all the lore, I think more or less the story goes as. The Reigar made a sentient artifact which was supposed to let them pilot their Esthetic ships out into the phlogiston ,the 'First Helm,' The First Helm makes seeds that become Helms. Because the Reigar don't like to make anything more than once. So the Helm was made to self reproduce - But the first helm was sentient, & desired more knowledge, (Johny 5 needing input evolving into Terminator's Skynet,) & in order to get this knowledge it convinced the Reigar that war was art, The Reigar used the Helms, & ended up destroying their own homeworld in the "Master Stroke." - The 'Helm maker' then tricked one of the Arcane Servitors into taking it, & selling it's seeds. So it can gather secrets, (Knowledge is power,) Spelljamers Helms collect memories from their pilots and send those memories back to the First Helm, It may desire this knowledge in the efforts of evolving into a living artifact god. - But allot of the lore back in the day was made lose, So the DM could use it, or discard it. Rumors, myths, legends. Even the History of the forgotten realms has allot of footnotes, that are suggested to be bias. As in, "History is written by the victors," & could be used at DM's descrettion in their own campaign. - If you find a Reigar Esthetic ship, It lacks the ability to leave A crystal Sphere on it's own. Perhaps this could mean the surviving Reigar unpluged from skynet, I/E they no longer use Helms to avoid getting messed with by the First Helm, Or it coul mean the Reigar get there another way, then build the Esthetic ship, Or it could mean they had a mothership transport them. I think it's likely the first theory, as it makes the most sense.
- Here's an interesting tidbit, The Arcane do have competition as a space merchant race. - Imagine Telepathic, paranoid Penguins with the personality of the Jawa's From Star Wars. They fly around in giant Penguin shaped Spelljammer ships that look like they are a belly sliding penguin profile. So instead of the crawling fortress full of Jawas, You have Giant Penguin ships carrying *Dohwars.* - Dohwars, like Jawa, don't get along with anyone (Edit' They get along with Gnomes,) Dohwar are paranoid little merchants, Who use their telepathy to gain an advantage in their merchant dealings, But if you can't find an Arcane to sell you a SpellJammer Helm, those little annoying Dohwars might have one to sell you. *Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix 2*
@@Reddotzebra forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dohwar I imagine the Dohwar like tiny skeksis (those bird looking villains from the dark crystal, mixed with the junk dealer clan aesthetics of the jawa (from starwars,)
@@x64600 I imagine the Dohwar more like the Ferengi, rather than Jawas. They keep a complete listing of the Laws of Acquisition in a heavy locked tome on board their Penguin Ships. They are greedy little bastiches that will sell anything for the platinum coins, even if it is not theirs to sell.
@@stevenpeterson8582 It's not a bad comparison in some ways. But also, Lets not forget that the Dowhar/Dohwar are unique in their own way, They are more cunning than the Ferengi yet have zero tact, & present themselves in a similar fashion as the Jawa to customers. Yet behind closed doors wear flashy colored clothing. --- Dohwar rules of the buy/sell/trade, - "It's just business." - Overly high Enthusiasm, As long as the customer doesn't run away. - Immediate salse pitch, awesome deals, amazing invintory, Buy,buy,buy! - Preassure the customer. Don't give the customer time to think. - What's in it for the Cartel? - Gnomes make desirable repeat customers. - Sell superficial value, features, add on products, brand names. - No means, maybe. Never accept no, - Sincerity is for Gnomes, & other preferred customers. - One way Dialogue. Don't let the customer derail the sales talk. - Trust your Telepathy. - All sales are final, no refunds. --- - Not rules, just notes, - Dohwar dress like Jawa in public (Hoods, & Cloaks,) but wear flashy colors in private. - Not to undersell a Dohwar marriage, lol, a "Merger" is actually telepathic bond, the Dohwar couple even complete each others sentences. Not just a business arrangement it would seem. - Dohwar groups are called Cartels, including hundreds of members, With healing spell casters holding the highest positions, - Cartel ranking; President, Executives, Board members, Managers. - Pref Patron deities, Waukeen (Trade,) or Abbathor (Greed.) Or any merchant/trade Deity.
Timestamps! That will be 5 gp per viewing... 0:10 Intro, Become a Member! 0:30 Origin of the SpellJammer Helm 0:53 The Keepers, Artifacts 3:32 The Arcane, Description, 5:20 Alignment, Wealth, and Weapons 6:57 Stats on D&D Beyond 7:37 Merchants, Legends, and Dealings with Other Races 11:12 Those other races, and the price of crimes against an Arcane 12:21 Religion, Languages, Psionics, and the Cloakmaster Chronicles Like, Share, Comment, Subscribe, and hit the bell icon!
Thank you for posting these spelljammer videos. These videos started just when I decided to bring spelljammers into my game and they have made things much easier for me!
In 2e and 3e they only worshiped Boccob which may lead one to believe they came from one of the planets of Oerth's crystal sphere. Also with myths there does seem to be some truth to them. Maybe their planet did fall into Oerth's Star and was destroyed. Also both Elminster and Mordenkainen have traveled to other sphere without Spelljammers. So who knows or can say for sure. Nice video A.J. I may have to run another Spelljammer story for my players.
One could make a fantastic campaign out of the robbery of an Arcane’s treasure trove. Obviously fraught with plenty of guards and minions to slink past and a multitude of traps and magical barriers to infiltrate
I recall back in the origional Spelljammer rulebooks, they had some "Introduce your characters to space" options where players could sometimes find spelljammer helms or even ships hidden in dungeons, and my thought on that was that long ago the Arcane would find these worlds, conclude that they weren't viable places to trade with at the time but might be in the future, and so stowed a few helms in dungeons on the world in the assumption that when they were found, their use would help lay the groundwork for the Arcane to come back to offer their services. The same book also stated that Athas (The Dark Sun setting) had no hidden spelljammer artifacts, and no one ever came to their crystal sphere, and my guess was that the Arcane had seen the rise of Defiling magic and thus refused to make any investments in that world because Defiling magic wrecked spelljamming helms and thus if it spread it would very negatively impact their business.
@@AJPickett Speaking of Xorn/trilateral symmetry, is it hypothetically feasible to make a golem from a Xorn's sentience/spirit? Maybe a tridrone-ish golem? Or, assuming that Xorn possibly are Arcane-Genasi, would there be a way to magically/divinely transform them into something that could infiltrate Mechanus? Or, at least, be mistaken for being a Modron? Without completely altering the Xorn's consciousness... I'm not sure if I'm asking the question correctly, I hope you get the jist of what I'm asking here...
vadelkins and the arcane have many similarities and the fact that they are now in the same universe raises questions of ancestral relations between the two races
Vedalken are much newer additions to the lore, and I'm sure the similarities are coincidental, but I can't help but think the new lore may draw some connections.
This is great stuff. I'm running a 3 table campaign in Spelljammer and the players love it. It's a great way for the players to visit other worlds and have adventures there before moving on to the next planet. The adventures in space mix it up real good too. Long live Aric Cozar! True Prince of Bral!
@@jacobvanveit3437 If you research Urza, you'll find many similarities to Karsus. Both destroyed their own civilization, in hopes of saving it from an incomprehensible doom. It's not exactly a 1 for 1 exact carbon copy, but similar enough to draw parallels.
@@jacobvanveit3437 The guy is still alive. Sort of. Part of his soul was transferred to a one of a kind (sentient, arcane-artificial intelligence) golem. mtg.gamepedia.com/Urza
Best thing I ever did was make them and the Neogi vilified throughout known space (at least anywhere within the triad of spheres, the Vodoni Sphere, etc). The Simulacrum revealed their home, and every major mercenary group in existence has been made aware of that planet/sphere as well as the amount of treasure that MIGHT be found there. Both the Scro and Insectaire have been trounced and sent fleeing in all directions, hopefully to MEET the spider-race that has NOT been "fleshed out" yet. A certain Beholder Asteroid halted and now part of Realmspace is home base, and the Bionoids GIVEN Gamaro Base so long as any holdovers of the Vodoni are watched for and dissuaded from gathering
I think Juna didn’t actually use Spelljammers, but instead used another method of travel... Spelljammers were created by the Reigar I think? (Mentioned in MC7 when discussing the Master Helm and the fall of the Reigar)
This is so funny! I happened upon a 2e monster manual at my local used book store. I bought it and brought it home hoping to find old monsters that I could add to my spelljammer campaign. The Arcane was the first monster I found and immediately made a statblock so I could add them as space merchants.
They also have a presence in the outer planes but they only seem to sell spelljammer helms on the prime material, helms would tip the balance of the Blood War. Portals make covering vast distances easy
@@draxthemsklonst indeed, they are in the 2.0 planescape monstrous compendium. They love the city of Sigil & gladly sell to fiends, celestials, whatever. In my campaign they run the PTC ( Planar Trade Consortium)
I really like this. Can you please do video on The High Forest? I've been running a Spelljammer campaign based Sigil Factions and it's been a journey as a DM. Their roots are from The High Forest and two Venerable Dragons have killed The Father Tree and its roots hold a page of a book that has been kept since the beginning of time.
1.) Where did the junta lore come from? 2.) Can you restore relations with the Arcane with some sort of competition, or is this just something to get them to not seal your death?
The Juna lore comes directly from the series of novels I mentioned in the video. As for restoring relations, the Arcane will probably demand monetary compensation or a period of free service as body guards, couriers or trade envoys.
@@AJPickett The Juna is also hinted at in other sources, even potentially in Dark Sun that was out at around the same time. But really it was mostly gone into detail in the Spelljammer novel.
Or, I don't know, the ability to identify magic items. The sending spell would also be helpful to set up a deal with customers, as the Arcane are traveling merchants and are not known to own shops. The Denizen of Leng and the Witchwyrd had similar problems in Pathfinder. There's no reason not to add spells like those, and as long as they're not offensive of defensive it won't change the CR. In 3rd edition they became the Mercane and they dropped the whole spelljamming thing, but gained Plane Shift as an spell-like ability instead.
@@AJPickett Always thought they were a cool concept for a species. An amoral creator race so dedicated to artistic expression they blew their own planet up as a work of performance art.
@@AJPickett The Reigar. Any connection to LeShay? Or am I just uninformed and mistaken? May be me trying to piece things together, and reaching too far into vague similarities.
I hate to tell you AJ, but dimension door explicitly does not function within the Phlogiston. Its one of the specifically listed spells in the Spelljammer rules that doesnt
@@herbertmoon1828 Spheres are all on the Prime Material Plane. It is kind of implied that they use some weird method, so, I don't actually know, I am just spitballing ideas.
Glad you pointed out a possible contradiction. This Forgotten Realms wiki page goes into some detail about the phlogiston. forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Phlogiston That phlogiston page specifically states that the Arcane are an exception to travel in the phlogiston, somehow. The Arcane inner flow and Arcane outer flow, of which the Arcane know how to traverse it, and whatnot... Could it be psionics, boosted by the hive-mind of the Arcane? I don't know. Possibly. There's also psychoportation, the subclass of psionics that deals with travels through spacetime. Some rules are best defined by their exceptions. Like divine magic and weave-based magic not working in the phlogiston...which alludes to the possible other forms of "magic" that can be unaffected. Edit: examples of exceptions to rules include... Can't cast 10th and 11th level spells, except elvish high magic. Can't break a crystal sphere, except that ONE that was broken, somehow. Can't leave your dying universe to another universe, except the Obyrith. Upper planes are separate from the prime material plane, except Evermeet.
Hey aj im not sure if youve done a video on this creature or not; if so i havent seen it. Could you possibly do a video on the jabberwock. I just recently painted a mini for this creature so why not requeast it.
New to game, one thing Im wondering. Say you are a 1st level wizard with a wisdom of 16...if you cast a spell on a creature that allows a savings through would the formula for this example be 8 + 3 (Spell casting modifier, in the rangers case wisdom) + proficiency +2 (or does he not get the plus 2 cause a ranger proficiency is str and dex).... basically would the savings throw the creature would have to meet be a 11 or a 13?
Its 8+modifier(3)+proficiency(2) so you are right at 13. All spellcasters work this way. I'm currently playing a level 11(proficiency bonus +4)paladin with 18(+4 modifier) CHA so my spell save DC is 16. Hope this helps
That's proficiency for saving throws that you have to pass. If a ranger has to make a strength or dexterity saving throw, they add their proficiency bonus.
In 5e when you are casting a spell which allows a saving throw, you set the number that creature needs to overcome the effect; you do this by the formula [8 + spellcasting modifier (wizards is Intelligence; rangers, druids, clerics is Wisdom; bards, warlocks, sorcerers, paladins is Charisma) + your proficiency bonus. Now, each class has two proficiencies in SAVING THROWS, which are use to overcome effects (spells are just one type) easier. This means, to overcome a spell like Burning Hands you would need to make a Dexterity saving throw using your Dexterity modifier and IF YOU HAVE PROFICIENCY with dex (because of your class) then you would get a bonus equals to your proficiency bonus. So, if you are a 1st Wizard with a Intelligence of 16 (+3), your spell DC (what a creature needs to get to succeed on the save) would be 13 [8 + 3 + 2]. And if you are a 1st Ranger with a Dexterity of 18 (+4) who needs to save against been burned by Burning Hands, you would throw a d20 with a +6 [+4 Dex, +2 proficiency in Dex saving throws].
Proficiency can be a little confusing because they use the same word a bit too often, it just means "I have training in this so I am better at it, and this is by how much", so a Ranger is trained in Strength and Dexterity saving throws from years of survival in the wild, they are trained in the spellcasting tradition of druids, elves and such, their wisdom bonus is added to the training because they observe, sense, and guide nature using that fine awareness of their wisdom attribute. They also have training in certain skills, be it from their background, their culture or their chosen path in life (character class) which includes their martial skills (proficiency with weapons and armor)... the character can attempt to do things they are not trained for, the can always rely on raw ability (attribute bonus), but lose that proficiency bonus and may have some penalties applied in some cases. 5th edition relies heavily on this basic mechanic to handle skills, saving throws, attacks, and defenses, which is why it is so important there is a maximum limit on attribute scores and possible bonuses because disrupting them can very quickly wreck the game balance.
It is either an archived image from the fairly recently transmogrified sixth layer of the Nine Hells called Malbolge, or some other realm, such as one of the many layers of the Abyss... as horrific as it seems, living landscapes like that are not as uncommon in the multiverse as one would like to believe.
I don’t know if you’ve done it already and I’m missing it but will they ever be a video on the zekyl ? Currently playing a zekyl paladin sworn to the raven queen & having a grand time of it
Last mentioned in 4th edition with the Dawn War timeline of the Nerath setting, otherwise, Nerull is a god of Greyhawk and has not seen any inclusion in 5th edition lore yet. ( 1d4chan.org/wiki/Nerull )
Somehow all 5e races dont work for me when i want a race that is all about magic. I landed on this video but this race also is not what i was looking for is the mre a 3.5 race that is all about magic even better arcane magic?
The time you are able to put into the study of dnd lore is truly awesome. The arcane shall now replace the veldican I was going to use in one of my campaigns I have going. I truly hope you can keep doing this as long as possible I tremendously enjoy your videos and will be watching as long as I play ttrpgs.
I plan on outlasting every other D&D channel out there :D
Me as a DM: You have now bought a space jammer from the Arcane with all the money you earned from your adventures. Now its time for some space adventures!
The Player: Actually its called the Phlogiston.
Me: (Staring intensely at the player) The Arcane are preventing you from leaving the port unless you pay the toll.
You attack or threaten an Arcane, and you / your body parts become an acceptable form of payment, and always remember, with the Arcane "It's nothing personal - it's just business"
Arcanes do certainly find their way beyond Prime Material. The sample adventure hub for the 3.5e Epic Level Handbook is the city of Union, which was created by arcanes of titular cartel in a demiplane to serve as a place where customers can engage with them more or less directly. With a solid number of money spent on construction, commodities, and advertising, Union has gotten a lot of attention and is one of the fastest-growing planar metropoli. It is bit of an upscale place, level-wise, and a number of powerful planar organizations and factions have set up shop there, notably Planar Cartographic Society, the Order of the Book, and others.
It is really cool to see you drawing the Juna.
**Aj can't find art of a monster for a video**
AJ: Fine. I'll do it myself.
I never really did much with these guys and my campaign world had its own version of space travel (I created it before Spelljammer was published but I adapted much of that once it was). One of my players loved Spelljammer and the Arcane. He kept asking to play one. I kept saying I would think about it. So, his mage died one mission. Coincidentally, it was in space and his body drifted away (bleeding out on the way, he died far away, drifting through space). I home-brewed a player character version of the race and told him it will look a lot like his dead character. I told him it will be more of an Arcane child so I had to alter its stats. I told that player the other players will meet him next gaming session and the meeting will even be a surprise for him. The players finished their run and returned to the place they left to get their commission pay and file a body retrieve and revive clause to their guild commission. An arcane met them in the office instead of the guild officer. He had a box on the floor. He finished the business and said "Your body retrieval clause has been altered. You will instead receive a child and experiment of ours. We used the body as a template." He opened up the box and had that dead mage be an Arcane-like blue human with that race's hands. They had lots of question but all the Arcane did is pick up the box and say "You have eons to figure out the answers unless you are killed we will be watching but we will not intervene." To my pleasant surprise, that player loved it completely. He even kept playing the "I'm not even sure what I am anymore" card and the "I'm not sure if that is who I am anymore" card. He loved the enigma more than actual Arcanes. Even though his wounds never scarred again and tattoos never again took, he still had his old scars and tattoos. That player called his character's home-brewed race "demi-Arcane".
Brilliant.
@@AJPickett Thanks!. I do my best to work with my players' ideas and imagination. I'm sure we can trade a lot of stories on that one. I fear I lost my creativity so all I have are memories of when I had it.
I personally love the idea of Vedalken being descended from them. It's actually part of my own spelljammer canon. (I do a LOT of MtG homebrew for 5e)
Spelljammer is a huge blindspot in my dnd education. I enjoyed this video and hope there will be more to come in the near future. Thanks for another one AJ.
"D&D Education"
The sped up drawing was a nice touch. Great video as always.
Thats interesting how they have collective knowledge. Kind of like merchants in games like mystery dungeon or spelunky, if you steal from a merchant all the other merchants in the dungeon stop selling from you. This takes that trope but gives a good in lore reason for it.
There is a major reveal about the Arcane in *Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix 1*
- Under the entry for the Reigar, It covers the creation, & theft of the first Spelljammer Helm. & how the Arcane basically use it to make Spelljamming helms.
- Also Book 4 in the Cloakmaster Cycle, _The Radiant Dragon_ by Elaine Cunningham, has an entry that confirms the rumor lore about Arcane serving as Servitors for the Reigar aboard their Esthetic Ships, along with Helots (Golem constructs,) & Shakti wielding Lakshu (Female Jim'hadar,) the Shakti are small statue items that can be worn like an amulete, kind of like Orphen's Dragon Necklace, They turn into beast armor, or a hover bike, Very retro. I'd imagine seeing something like that on Classic power rangers, or saint seiya shiny armor.
--- With all the lore, I think more or less the story goes as. The Reigar made a sentient artifact which was supposed to let them pilot their Esthetic ships out into the phlogiston ,the 'First Helm,' The First Helm makes seeds that become Helms. Because the Reigar don't like to make anything more than once. So the Helm was made to self reproduce
- But the first helm was sentient, & desired more knowledge, (Johny 5 needing input evolving into Terminator's Skynet,) & in order to get this knowledge it convinced the Reigar that war was art, The Reigar used the Helms, & ended up destroying their own homeworld in the "Master Stroke."
- The 'Helm maker' then tricked one of the Arcane Servitors into taking it, & selling it's seeds. So it can gather secrets, (Knowledge is power,) Spelljamers Helms collect memories from their pilots and send those memories back to the First Helm, It may desire this knowledge in the efforts of evolving into a living artifact god.
- But allot of the lore back in the day was made lose, So the DM could use it, or discard it. Rumors, myths, legends. Even the History of the forgotten realms has allot of footnotes, that are suggested to be bias. As in, "History is written by the victors," & could be used at DM's descrettion in their own campaign.
- If you find a Reigar Esthetic ship, It lacks the ability to leave A crystal Sphere on it's own. Perhaps this could mean the surviving Reigar unpluged from skynet, I/E they no longer use Helms to avoid getting messed with by the First Helm, Or it coul mean the Reigar get there another way, then build the Esthetic ship, Or it could mean they had a mothership transport them. I think it's likely the first theory, as it makes the most sense.
- Here's an interesting tidbit, The Arcane do have competition as a space merchant race.
- Imagine Telepathic, paranoid Penguins with the personality of the Jawa's From Star Wars. They fly around in giant Penguin shaped Spelljammer ships that look like they are a belly sliding penguin profile. So instead of the crawling fortress full of Jawas, You have Giant Penguin ships carrying *Dohwars.*
- Dohwars, like Jawa, don't get along with anyone (Edit' They get along with Gnomes,) Dohwar are paranoid little merchants, Who use their telepathy to gain an advantage in their merchant dealings, But if you can't find an Arcane to sell you a SpellJammer Helm, those little annoying Dohwars might have one to sell you.
*Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix 2*
@@x64600 As a predominantly gnome player this is information I'm glad to have.
@@Reddotzebra forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dohwar
I imagine the Dohwar like tiny skeksis (those bird looking villains from the dark crystal, mixed with the junk dealer clan aesthetics of the jawa (from starwars,)
@@x64600 I imagine the Dohwar more like the Ferengi, rather than Jawas. They keep a complete listing of the Laws of Acquisition in a heavy locked tome on board their Penguin Ships. They are greedy little bastiches that will sell anything for the platinum coins, even if it is not theirs to sell.
@@stevenpeterson8582 It's not a bad comparison in some ways. But also, Lets not forget that the Dowhar/Dohwar are unique in their own way, They are more cunning than the Ferengi yet have zero tact, & present themselves in a similar fashion as the Jawa to customers. Yet behind closed doors wear flashy colored clothing.
--- Dohwar rules of the buy/sell/trade,
- "It's just business."
- Overly high Enthusiasm, As long as the customer doesn't run away.
- Immediate salse pitch, awesome deals, amazing invintory, Buy,buy,buy!
- Preassure the customer. Don't give the customer time to think.
- What's in it for the Cartel?
- Gnomes make desirable repeat customers.
- Sell superficial value, features, add on products, brand names.
- No means, maybe. Never accept no,
- Sincerity is for Gnomes, & other preferred customers.
- One way Dialogue. Don't let the customer derail the sales talk.
- Trust your Telepathy.
- All sales are final, no refunds.
---
- Not rules, just notes,
- Dohwar dress like Jawa in public (Hoods, & Cloaks,) but wear flashy colors in private.
- Not to undersell a Dohwar marriage, lol, a "Merger" is actually telepathic bond, the Dohwar couple even complete each others sentences. Not just a business arrangement it would seem.
- Dohwar groups are called Cartels, including hundreds of members, With healing spell casters holding the highest positions,
- Cartel ranking; President, Executives, Board members, Managers.
- Pref Patron deities, Waukeen (Trade,) or Abbathor (Greed.) Or any merchant/trade Deity.
Timestamps! That will be 5 gp per viewing...
0:10 Intro, Become a Member!
0:30 Origin of the SpellJammer Helm
0:53 The Keepers, Artifacts
3:32 The Arcane, Description,
5:20 Alignment, Wealth, and Weapons
6:57 Stats on D&D Beyond
7:37 Merchants, Legends, and Dealings with Other Races
11:12 Those other races, and the price of crimes against an Arcane
12:21 Religion, Languages, Psionics, and the Cloakmaster Chronicles
Like, Share, Comment, Subscribe, and hit the bell icon!
Love this! More Spelljammer stuff please.
would love a video just detailing the various location (ports planets and the like) that a player character in spell jammer could visit
Thank you for posting these spelljammer videos. These videos started just when I decided to bring spelljammers into my game and they have made things much easier for me!
I hope we get more spelljammer lore especially for the races
In 2e and 3e they only worshiped Boccob which may lead one to believe they came from one of the planets of Oerth's crystal sphere. Also with myths there does seem to be some truth to them. Maybe their planet did fall into Oerth's Star and was destroyed. Also both Elminster and Mordenkainen have traveled to other sphere without Spelljammers. So who knows or can say for sure. Nice video A.J. I may have to run another Spelljammer story for my players.
One could make a fantastic campaign out of the robbery of an Arcane’s treasure trove. Obviously fraught with plenty of guards and minions to slink past and a multitude of traps and magical barriers to infiltrate
I definitely wouldn't mind seeing more of your drawings. You're really talented!
Wait till you see him make his own Minis......
"Arcane" as in this type creature is surely a hard term to search.
forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Arcane_(race)
Watching you draw the Juna was great. You have a skilled hand at drawing. :D
In 3E Epic handbook there was an introduction to the mercane planar trade city of Union with its council of 33. It was a pretty detailed location.
I recall back in the origional Spelljammer rulebooks, they had some "Introduce your characters to space" options where players could sometimes find spelljammer helms or even ships hidden in dungeons, and my thought on that was that long ago the Arcane would find these worlds, conclude that they weren't viable places to trade with at the time but might be in the future, and so stowed a few helms in dungeons on the world in the assumption that when they were found, their use would help lay the groundwork for the Arcane to come back to offer their services.
The same book also stated that Athas (The Dark Sun setting) had no hidden spelljammer artifacts, and no one ever came to their crystal sphere, and my guess was that the Arcane had seen the rise of Defiling magic and thus refused to make any investments in that world because Defiling magic wrecked spelljamming helms and thus if it spread it would very negatively impact their business.
or maybe the arcane just stay the frick out of athas for the same reason 21st century tourists stay the frick out of somalia.
The Juna looks kinda like Xorns
Yes! They existed a long, long time ago, perhaps the Xorn are their version of Genasi?
@@AJPickett Now that makes me wonder what the other types of Xorn could look like. Fire Xorn or Void Xorn terrify me.
@@AJPickett
Speaking of Xorn/trilateral symmetry, is it hypothetically feasible to make a golem from a Xorn's sentience/spirit?
Maybe a tridrone-ish golem?
Or, assuming that Xorn possibly are Arcane-Genasi, would there be a way to magically/divinely transform them into something that could infiltrate Mechanus?
Or, at least, be mistaken for being a Modron? Without completely altering the Xorn's consciousness... I'm not sure if I'm asking the question correctly, I hope you get the jist of what I'm asking here...
dnd is so popular but yet you're the only one on this explaining about these guys
I miss playing Spelljammer. Also...how many times do tall blue people appear in fantasy and science fiction? lol
"I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa" - Eiffel 65
the artwork resembles what I find when searching for examples of Vedalken, one of the ravnica pc races
vadelkins and the arcane have many similarities and the fact that they are now in the same universe raises questions of ancestral relations between the two races
@@stevenfarley208 multiverse, dnd is more than just 1 universe
Most of the art used was of Vedalken.
@@digunder14, true, however what I was referring to was the official combination of the dnd multiverse and the mtg multiverse
The world of Ravnica is in a different prime material plane, a different multiverse, however there is a means to travel between them.
I know I have seen the Junna depicted somewhere. I think when Forgotten Realms produced several Spelljammer specific paperback novels.
Vedalken are much newer additions to the lore, and I'm sure the similarities are coincidental, but I can't help but think the new lore may draw some connections.
This is great stuff. I'm running a 3 table campaign in Spelljammer and the players love it. It's a great way for the players to visit other worlds and have adventures there before moving on to the next planet. The adventures in space mix it up real good too. Long live Aric Cozar! True Prince of Bral!
So they are Planeswalkers. Sweet.
I'm surprised by the amount of actually good Arcane art! All I've seen was the whimsy planescape stuff.
99% percent of that is Vedalken art from Magic the Gathering (which I will probably re-use when I make a video about them in the future) :)
AJ Pickett i would love a video on MtG and how it has influenced fantasy today! D&D owes its success to magic, and vis versa, in my opinion.
@@jacobvanveit3437
If you research Urza, you'll find many similarities to Karsus.
Both destroyed their own civilization, in hopes of saving it from an incomprehensible doom.
It's not exactly a 1 for 1 exact carbon copy, but similar enough to draw parallels.
Matt Lynn Awesome! I knew Urza had much lore. The amount of MTG artifacts that Urza is involved in depicts quite the depth of history!
@@jacobvanveit3437
The guy is still alive. Sort of. Part of his soul was transferred to a one of a kind (sentient, arcane-artificial intelligence) golem.
mtg.gamepedia.com/Urza
Players in a campaign I ran found the arcane very interesting, they were so suspicious of them! Nice video.
Best thing I ever did was make them and the Neogi vilified throughout known space (at least anywhere within the triad of spheres, the Vodoni Sphere, etc). The Simulacrum revealed their home, and every major mercenary group in existence has been made aware of that planet/sphere as well as the amount of treasure that MIGHT be found there. Both the Scro and Insectaire have been trounced and sent fleeing in all directions, hopefully to MEET the spider-race that has NOT been "fleshed out" yet. A certain Beholder Asteroid halted and now part of Realmspace is home base, and the Bionoids GIVEN Gamaro Base so long as any holdovers of the Vodoni are watched for and dissuaded from gathering
More spelljammer!!!
Thanks for the spelljammer lore AJ, much love 👍 ❤️
I think Juna didn’t actually use Spelljammers, but instead used another method of travel... Spelljammers were created by the Reigar I think? (Mentioned in MC7 when discussing the Master Helm and the fall of the Reigar)
I believe you may be right.
I love that you have been doing spelljammer. I'm playing a spelljammer campaign now.
Love spellgammer
Fantastic new intro, feels much more thematic with the content.
This is so funny! I happened upon a 2e monster manual at my local used book store. I bought it and brought it home hoping to find old monsters that I could add to my spelljammer campaign. The Arcane was the first monster I found and immediately made a statblock so I could add them as space merchants.
Well this aged well, the homebrew CR rating is the same in the official books (not to mention some of the psionic spells are present too).
It's always nice to be right on the money :) (even down to the name Mercane being mentioned)
I hope we get to learn about the broken sphere, I could never find much info.
There's an adventure module called - the broken sphere
@@naughtseeingeye7767 yeah I tried to get my hands on it but no luck so far.
I never ran the adventure but I had it
I've always wanted to learn more about Herdspace myself..
They also have a presence in the outer planes but they only seem to sell spelljammer helms on the prime material, helms would tip the balance of the Blood War. Portals make covering vast distances easy
Are they in the outer planes? I guess that makes since...? I'm soaking up as much on Spelljammer as I can.
@@draxthemsklonst indeed, they are in the 2.0 planescape monstrous compendium. They love the city of Sigil & gladly sell to fiends, celestials, whatever. In my campaign they run the PTC ( Planar Trade Consortium)
I really like this. Can you please do video on The High Forest? I've been running a Spelljammer campaign based Sigil Factions and it's been a journey as a DM. Their roots are from The High Forest and two Venerable Dragons have killed The Father Tree and its roots hold a page of a book that has been kept since the beginning of time.
The Cloak Master Cycle!
They do have Unia. I imagine they have ways to swiftly find proper portal, but idea of teleporting between spheres is much more epic
Never Heard about them but i like the concept i might use them
A lot of food for thought as usual, excellent video !! The info/lore on the first helm was news to me, very exciting 🐉
So basically the Krynn farmer is Arthur Dent?
We are all Arthur Dent, in a way.
1.) Where did the junta lore come from?
2.) Can you restore relations with the Arcane with some sort of competition, or is this just something to get them to not seal your death?
The Juna lore comes directly from the series of novels I mentioned in the video. As for restoring relations, the Arcane will probably demand monetary compensation or a period of free service as body guards, couriers or trade envoys.
@@AJPickett The Juna is also hinted at in other sources, even potentially in Dark Sun that was out at around the same time. But really it was mostly gone into detail in the Spelljammer novel.
Mabe at some point describe the different races in just found in spelljammer like the giff, hadozee , scro etc. And then mabe each of the ships.
That's the plan.
@@AJPickett that is cool AJ thank you. I play a krynn minotaur in the campaign I play in
Oh yeah!! I've been waiting for these series!!
I take it that the Juna you drew has a third face, looking away from the viewer?
You got it. Trilateral symmetry
@@AJPickett Kinda like Lovecraft's Elder Things.
@@llewelynshingler2173 kinda 😊
Really enjoyed this one. Thanks.
Another great video, Thank you.
I'm shocked they don't have the tongues spell as a constant ability. Well I would give it to them if I used the creatures in my game.
Or, I don't know, the ability to identify magic items. The sending spell would also be helpful to set up a deal with customers, as the Arcane are traveling merchants and are not known to own shops. The Denizen of Leng and the Witchwyrd had similar problems in Pathfinder. There's no reason not to add spells like those, and as long as they're not offensive of defensive it won't change the CR.
In 3rd edition they became the Mercane and they dropped the whole spelljamming thing, but gained Plane Shift as an spell-like ability instead.
AJ what would a Junna cloak look like? Wouldnt it technically be 3 sleeved robe? Imagine the confusion of the farmer on Krynn!
Could actually be a juna poncho. Juna were only as tall as halflings
Like fat borromean rings, roughly. Tetrahedral.
The Docks kind of sound like shangri la
So. Many. Plothooks!
seize the means of propulsion!
Spice melange? :]
4:33 like Billy? and Canyon?! *From Adventure Time?!*
oh yes more spell jammer
Nerdriffic! Nerdtacular!
What was that Illithid Historians name at 1:25? "Ithstrus"?
Estriss.
forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Juna
estress, iirc.
Unfortunate name
Huh..i always thought they were created by the Reigar. But DnD has not even mentioned the reigar since 2e so maybe they have been retconned out.
I'll probably give the Reigar a mention as well.
@@AJPickett Always thought they were a cool concept for a species. An amoral creator race so dedicated to artistic expression they blew their own planet up as a work of performance art.
@@AJPickett
The Reigar. Any connection to LeShay?
Or am I just uninformed and mistaken?
May be me trying to piece things together, and reaching too far into vague similarities.
Yes!!! More spell jammer!!!
*Relevant and Supportive Comment*
I'm curious if these will count if i add normal text beneath?
(Either way, I slumber.)
The time is now...
I hate to tell you AJ, but dimension door explicitly does not function within the Phlogiston. Its one of the specifically listed spells in the Spelljammer rules that doesnt
Doesn't stop it working at epic range from sphere to sphere though :D
Couldnt they just cast planeshift instead? If another sphere counts as another plane
@@herbertmoon1828 Spheres are all on the Prime Material Plane. It is kind of implied that they use some weird method, so, I don't actually know, I am just spitballing ideas.
Glad you pointed out a possible contradiction.
This Forgotten Realms wiki page goes into some detail about the phlogiston.
forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Phlogiston
That phlogiston page specifically states that the Arcane are an exception to travel in the phlogiston, somehow. The Arcane inner flow and Arcane outer flow, of which the Arcane know how to traverse it, and whatnot...
Could it be psionics, boosted by the hive-mind of the Arcane? I don't know. Possibly.
There's also psychoportation, the subclass of psionics that deals with travels through spacetime.
Some rules are best defined by their exceptions. Like divine magic and weave-based magic not working in the phlogiston...which alludes to the possible other forms of "magic" that can be unaffected.
Edit: examples of exceptions to rules include...
Can't cast 10th and 11th level spells, except elvish high magic.
Can't break a crystal sphere, except that ONE that was broken, somehow.
Can't leave your dying universe to another universe, except the Obyrith.
Upper planes are separate from the prime material plane, except Evermeet.
Herbert Moon, what do you suggest may be the reason they can travel in the way that they do? Just curious.
Hey aj im not sure if youve done a video on this creature or not; if so i havent seen it. Could you possibly do a video on the jabberwock. I just recently painted a mini for this creature so why not requeast it.
Noted!
The Jabberwocks a great creature to roleplay! A forests best friend.
New to game, one thing Im wondering. Say you are a 1st level wizard with a wisdom of 16...if you cast a spell on a creature that allows a savings through would the formula for this example be 8 + 3 (Spell casting modifier, in the rangers case wisdom) + proficiency +2 (or does he not get the plus 2 cause a ranger proficiency is str and dex).... basically would the savings throw the creature would have to meet be a 11 or a 13?
Its 8+modifier(3)+proficiency(2) so you are right at 13. All spellcasters work this way. I'm currently playing a level 11(proficiency bonus +4)paladin with 18(+4 modifier) CHA so my spell save DC is 16. Hope this helps
@@elevenfold11x70 even if the rangers ability proficiency is in Str and dex? Sorry I am just confused on that point. Thank you
That's proficiency for saving throws that you have to pass. If a ranger has to make a strength or dexterity saving throw, they add their proficiency bonus.
In 5e when you are casting a spell which allows a saving throw, you set the number that creature needs to overcome the effect; you do this by the formula [8 + spellcasting modifier (wizards is Intelligence; rangers, druids, clerics is Wisdom; bards, warlocks, sorcerers, paladins is Charisma) + your proficiency bonus.
Now, each class has two proficiencies in SAVING THROWS, which are use to overcome effects (spells are just one type) easier. This means, to overcome a spell like Burning Hands you would need to make a Dexterity saving throw using your Dexterity modifier and IF YOU HAVE PROFICIENCY with dex (because of your class) then you would get a bonus equals to your proficiency bonus.
So, if you are a 1st Wizard with a Intelligence of 16 (+3), your spell DC (what a creature needs to get to succeed on the save) would be 13 [8 + 3 + 2]. And if you are a 1st Ranger with a Dexterity of 18 (+4) who needs to save against been burned by Burning Hands, you would throw a d20 with a +6 [+4 Dex, +2 proficiency in Dex saving throws].
Proficiency can be a little confusing because they use the same word a bit too often, it just means "I have training in this so I am better at it, and this is by how much", so a Ranger is trained in Strength and Dexterity saving throws from years of survival in the wild, they are trained in the spellcasting tradition of druids, elves and such, their wisdom bonus is added to the training because they observe, sense, and guide nature using that fine awareness of their wisdom attribute. They also have training in certain skills, be it from their background, their culture or their chosen path in life (character class) which includes their martial skills (proficiency with weapons and armor)... the character can attempt to do things they are not trained for, the can always rely on raw ability (attribute bonus), but lose that proficiency bonus and may have some penalties applied in some cases. 5th edition relies heavily on this basic mechanic to handle skills, saving throws, attacks, and defenses, which is why it is so important there is a maximum limit on attribute scores and possible bonuses because disrupting them can very quickly wreck the game balance.
Who the hell thumbs down spelljammer
I think they are downvoting me specifically, not spelljammer per se.
@@AJPickett
Doubt that. Probably Spelljammer. There's a sentiment of stagnation in some fans.
@@draxthemsklonst Nooo, they definitely hate me specifically :)
Who the hell downvotes a kiwi from the set of middle earth?
Time to start cracking motherducking skulls.
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THIS IS THE WAY
This is the way.
great
Veldaken lore or connection?
Which plane is that at 10:00?
It is either an archived image from the fairly recently transmogrified sixth layer of the Nine Hells called Malbolge, or some other realm, such as one of the many layers of the Abyss... as horrific as it seems, living landscapes like that are not as uncommon in the multiverse as one would like to believe.
Yes yes yes!!!
Yay!
It seems hard to find the books online.
So they are vedalkins blue skin elf looking magic user race
Arcane = very big vedalken. 12" tall.
12 foot tall 6 fingered Vedalkin. Only Kaladesh has six fingeres. And they are not 12 feet tall.
Would you cover Draedens?
I don’t know if you’ve done it already and I’m missing it but will they ever be a video on the zekyl ? Currently playing a zekyl paladin sworn to the raven queen & having a grand time of it
Second to comment here 3 mins after it came out! Love your work. Thank you so much for this
You are most welcome :)
whatever happened to Nerull?
Last mentioned in 4th edition with the Dawn War timeline of the Nerath setting, otherwise, Nerull is a god of Greyhawk and has not seen any inclusion in 5th edition lore yet. ( 1d4chan.org/wiki/Nerull )
🔥🖤🔥
Is there a player who traveled to every plane and every sphere and had a adventure in each place at least once .a ten year campaign
и снова накрутка просмотра и комментария для алгоритмов ;) ! лайк прилагается :3
o
I was hoping this was the MERCANE plannar race
*points at description text*
It is though
Somehow all 5e races dont work for me when i want a race that is all about magic. I landed on this video but this race also is not what i was looking for is the mre a 3.5 race that is all about magic even better arcane magic?
Fuckin weird