These videos have been an amazing resource for making lore about my own campaign world(s). Thank you for putting in all the time and effort it takes to put together such a well made video about deep pockets of lesser known Forgotten Realms history!
Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to watch and comment. More to come and it warms my heart to hear that even a single person might use this knowledge shared as a resource to improve their worlds and adventures!
I've been reading FR and playing d&d since I was a little kid, DMing and homebrewing for like 10 years, and I just can't consume enough lore, especially in a concise, chronological way that doesn't cut out the cool stuff. This is exactly what I have been looking for. THANK YOU :D Infinitely better watching these than opening 10k FR/Faerun wiki tabs and PDFs to back and forth between.
I am so glad that I stumbled upon your videos. Being a Forgotten Realms Lore Goblin, i love this. Thank you for the time and effort that you put into your craft. It is amazing.
My very first setting was Greyhawk way back in 86. In 2000, I joined a table that was almost exclusively Forgotten Realms. I thought that I knew the lore. I tip my hat to you! The time and effort you've put into your videos is impressive, and much appreciated. You have a true fan and a new subscriber!
Thank you thank you thank you for starting this series, as a forgotten realms nerd since 2014 when I started playing in highschool, I’ve frequented many channels that cover forgotten realms lore but you’re doing it the way I’ve always wanted someone to present this information! Covering everything that there is and including as much of your research into your content. If these have to go on for longer than an hour, rest assured you will have an avid listener here!
I've always thought the Yuan-Ti servitors of the Sarukkh down in Mhairshaulk might have figured out some way to keep them asleep magically through the Coiled Cabal, maybe in such a way that it could be linked to Sseth's slumber. Not wishing to be ruled again by their creators, but feeling like the Sarukkh are too useful to kill. Perhaps through pacts made with Dendar they are plumbing the dreams of the Sarukkh for knowledge/magic. Great videos! Glad I found your channel!
That is an excellent take/observation... the nice thing about such "ancient" history is the farther back you go, the more malleable the lore is and can be in your world building.
Found your channel just 24h ago or so, and have to say your content is very good ! One of the best fantasy lore videos I've seen so far ! Keep on the good work.
That tidbit about the Sarrukh who take turns hibernating as a survival strategy might have inspired the Olm from veins of the earth! Theyre salamander people who put themselves "on ice" for as long as required, only a few are ever awake at a time, and if theres ever a windfall of food theyll wake up large parts of their community for basically a big party, then go into food comas again. Im still busy listening but i had to pause and mention this in case you thought it was interesting!
Loving these videos. New to DnD and Dming . With these videos I get to learn the canon history and effectively make some changes in my home brew that feel natural yet new. Thanks and keep them coming!
Another awesome video. ! Im a VERY BIG Weapons and Armor fan so seeing what these different races have is VERY AWESOME. !! Matter of fact if i was ACTUALLY able to jump into the world of Faeruin i would want to be an immortal Blacksmith / Fighter that lives on my big ship on the Sea of Swords that has a Blacksmiths Forge with a HUGE Armory. !!! This would be the life for me. !!
"That would be interesting. Although the armory would later serve as collection of relics," The monotone voice informs, "The extention of an ever-growing housing will be needed. Many thieves will come and claim their pick offshore." The echoing footsteps off the stone pathway play their rhythm. The voice sighs. Cold, brown eyes lay upon the ruin of cobble. Rusted metals bent, broken, and decayed is all that remain on top of the arcane structure. Among them, a rusted iron pipe with a wheelspring and attached flint piece. "Change is the only constant that I can rely on." The woman smiles. Memories of battles and lives relived... all outlived by her. Many names. Many titles. Many weapons. Many feastings of flesh of the pickings. War, Death, and Peace became the welcomed companions and witnesses...
Maybe so... i meant it, but only you can be the judge if it hit home with you personally. Either way, i apprecaite the feedback and will use it to try and improve.
Ive binged probably 90% of your stuff, man lol. So helpful in my own DMing and just entertaining to listen to while working. Love this series and your homebrew additions to other videos, very creative 👌 Wonder how you could implement the Sarrukh into a campaign though. Maybe a lovecraftian archaeological questline for Candlekeep or the Harpers?
Great stuff man! Didnt have any contact to the D&D universe since i came across your channel and now I am playing in D&D campaigns :D thank you for your great and creative inspiration
@@RichesandLiches In the world of critical role a character named Caleb widowgast found a half completed spell that is effectively modified beast. The Partially completed spell was effectively found in a magical time capsule from hundreds maybe thousands of years in its past. permanently on a genetic level changes the species of a character. For instance from goblin to halfling. That character has effectively brought second edition magic into 5th edition.
9:20 Whoa, whoa what hold up, the fey didn’t originate in the feywild? Did they move to another dimension? Or were they so powerful they just created the feywild
It is but one of the official origin theories. You can learn more in the Grand History of the Realms books and specifically an article in Dragon #376 that refers to the Fey as a creator species. I wil also be covering them in a future volume in this series. Thanks for giving it a watch!
On the World serpent ideas. To be fair ALL real world mythos are canon in faerun, which means the World Serpent could also be Jormungandr from Norse mythology.
Wotc: "Nooo! Nothing from any published past works is canon unless it's updated in a 5th edition book! Give us your money! Don't get your info from other sources! Everyone who plays dnd: "Damn this Dungeon magazine from 1991 really opened my eyes to the depths of Faerun history"
Yeah, definitely not all Primordials are Elder Evils. You got the Neutral ones like the Elemental Lords who get worshipped like gods on Toril, and even some good ones like the Archomentals of Elemental Good.
These are brilliant working my through all your work, I love FR and you are helping me immerse myself in it, also 5e dos not decide what is canon DM’s do! Their version of the realms is what counts as stated in the earlier versions and original books you are meant to use it as a frame work. You provide all the information I need to form my version of the realms thank you
Watching this video made me dig through my own shelf full of vintage 1e materials, because I just *knew* I'd seen a reference to these guys in an old supplement featuring various AD&D undead. Did your delve into FR history include "REF5: Lords Of Darkness", Rich? Because there's a sarrukh mummy in that book who's spent thousands of years guarding a pair of Nether Scrolls, that might shed some light on how those guys created all those specialized servitor races. Damn, can't believe I actually remembered about Hsssthak's tomb, after all these years. Probably just because I was so frustrated at the time, trying to figure out how the hairy heck that book expected us to pronounce "Isstosseffiil". Or "aearee" for that matter. 😉
No problem. Us old fogeys who remember the Dawn Age of D&D have to keep circulating the lore, eh? REF5 was a pretty good supplement for the time, although the quality and completeness of some of the mini-adventures left a lot to be desired. The mummy section is one of the better short adventures, though, and it might even be the first time that the Age of Thunder was directly referenced in a product: I haven't checked the publication dates on any others. Oh, and it also shows just *how* disturbingly-far the elves were willing to go, to keep ancient surrukh magic sealed away... 😱
10:25 when I learned about the races I always felt like humans are so embarassing weak xD in the end, time is power and humans have none of that in my opinion. I'm always suprised humans are some of the "stronger" or at least popular races because i never feel like it's very justyfied haha. Can't wait for your next video!!!
I own a commercial use license to create and own the art in the videos (unless attributed/credited to another source). The sourcebooks vary depending upon the topic but i have a pretty respectible collection gathered over the years. For the Forgotten Realms series, I lean on Ed Greenwood's works mostly plus some more focused works like Serpent Kingdoms for volume 2. Thanks for watching and your comments!
Very interesting, and thank you for your dedication in providing this content in such a detailed and well nerrated fashion. . I have a question. In the Neverwinter Campaign, there is a Creator Race known as The Old Ones, with Morag as their Queen. Are they official to the canon? As they were a very interesting addition to the Creator Races.
The Old Ones as I recall were added from a novel to the MMORPG, so I would have to say that they are not canonical to the realms lore as a whole. But then again, much is left to the world builder. :)
@@RichesandLiches Yeah, fair point. Neverwinter Nights I meant, not Neverwinter Online, sorry. It was a very interesting game, which followed 3rd Edition rules if I remember rightly, (I'm quite rusty as I have only just recently got back into the D&D universe), mainly following the games, Baldur's Gate III being on my list of games to play next. Thank you for the speedy reply. Your channel is excellent, subscribed.
Ironically the Jeremy Crawford stance of WoTC on the FR canon is, in fact, not canon. The Forgotten Realms remain Ed Greenwood's, their contract does not allow them to retcon old novels and sources out of canon. They can simply not deal with it quite easily given the scale of FR and the time-line but saying "it did not happen" would be a breech in contract. Ed Greenwood himself has a youtube channel and has spoken a little on the topic. I view the whole thing regarding contradiction in the same way 40k deals with it - everything written is canon but not everything is true. The naration is unreliable by design, leaving the readers/players to explore and postulate whats true, false, propaganda, hyperbole, or just plain fact.
@@RichesandLiches cool, it sounded too good to be AI but it definitely sounded electronic in some way. Should have assumed voice modifier first. Makes way more sense.
It's a real shame to see such a high quality channel resort to using so much AI artwork considering all the controversies surrounding it and when there's so many artists and free use art available. I hope for future videos that this channel gets away from AI artwork because y'all apparently care deeply about d&d and other things, which would not exist without countless artists bringing the imaginations of Gygax, Greenwood, Holmes, Mearles, and so many others to us fans.
I understand the controversy and try to be as open as I can about it when asked. I chose to pay a premium for a commerical license with the hope that someday soon a portion of that - expensive - fee will go to the artists. I do not get any free art and contrary to what many people think, it is a lot of work. The technology is not going away, so I have chose to embrace it. That said, I understand and respect your position. I will be the first to admit that I have not reached out to any artists as of yet, but would welcome prioritizing and crediting any artists that wanted the exposure on the channel. I do not know where to start that process just yet, but you have my commitment that I will look into it. Thanks for your comments... I take all sincere critiques seriously.
These videos have been an amazing resource for making lore about my own campaign world(s). Thank you for putting in all the time and effort it takes to put together such a well made video about deep pockets of lesser known Forgotten Realms history!
Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to watch and comment. More to come and it warms my heart to hear that even a single person might use this knowledge shared as a resource to improve their worlds and adventures!
So if Mystra was Reptilian, she wouldn't have no Weave falling off her head.
Almost made me forget this is fantasy and not history
Lore of such a big fantasy world is History for itself. Cause If you give such world life the its own History becomes as important as ours😂
Facts
Deadass had a daydream that this was history class
Power exists where a mind wills it. Rich and his story telling is the next generation of a continuous tale. Let it Transcend forms primordial.
I've been reading FR and playing d&d since I was a little kid, DMing and homebrewing for like 10 years, and I just can't consume enough lore, especially in a concise, chronological way that doesn't cut out the cool stuff. This is exactly what I have been looking for. THANK YOU :D Infinitely better watching these than opening 10k FR/Faerun wiki tabs and PDFs to back and forth between.
I am so glad that I stumbled upon your videos. Being a Forgotten Realms Lore Goblin, i love this.
Thank you for the time and effort that you put into your craft. It is amazing.
My very first setting was Greyhawk way back in 86. In 2000, I joined a table that was almost exclusively Forgotten Realms. I thought that I knew the lore. I tip my hat to you! The time and effort you've put into your videos is impressive, and much appreciated. You have a true fan and a new subscriber!
I feel like I live in Toril and this is a fantastic history class! Thank you very much for creating these series 💯💯💯
Glad you enjoy it! Thank you for the kind words!
Thank you thank you thank you for starting this series, as a forgotten realms nerd since 2014 when I started playing in highschool, I’ve frequented many channels that cover forgotten realms lore but you’re doing it the way I’ve always wanted someone to present this information! Covering everything that there is and including as much of your research into your content. If these have to go on for longer than an hour, rest assured you will have an avid listener here!
Comments like these are the WHY I create these videos and they NEVER cease to inspire me... thank you!
I've always thought the Yuan-Ti servitors of the Sarukkh down in Mhairshaulk might have figured out some way to keep them asleep magically through the Coiled Cabal, maybe in such a way that it could be linked to Sseth's slumber. Not wishing to be ruled again by their creators, but feeling like the Sarukkh are too useful to kill. Perhaps through pacts made with Dendar they are plumbing the dreams of the Sarukkh for knowledge/magic. Great videos! Glad I found your channel!
That is an excellent take/observation... the nice thing about such "ancient" history is the farther back you go, the more malleable the lore is and can be in your world building.
Found your channel just 24h ago or so, and have to say your content is very good ! One of the best fantasy lore videos I've seen so far ! Keep on the good work.
Amazing stuff i had never heard before! My mind kept thinking about cool campaigns or quests i might run with this info
I love hearing that, one of the primary reasons I do this... thank you!
Can’t believe this video only has 32k views this need more attention thank you so much for this!!!
Still new and growing... slow and steady :)
Thanks for the kind words and comments!
Thank you for what you do, the passion and hard work you put into this channel come through in every video.
So nice of you... /bow
It is very rewarding when viewers and subs acknowledge the work... thank you,
That tidbit about the Sarrukh who take turns hibernating as a survival strategy might have inspired the Olm from veins of the earth! Theyre salamander people who put themselves "on ice" for as long as required, only a few are ever awake at a time, and if theres ever a windfall of food theyll wake up large parts of their community for basically a big party, then go into food comas again.
Im still busy listening but i had to pause and mention this in case you thought it was interesting!
Loving these videos. New to DnD and Dming . With these videos I get to learn the canon history and effectively make some changes in my home brew that feel natural yet new. Thanks and keep them coming!
Amazing!! Thank you for putting all this info out there in such a convenient way for us to find! Looking forward to the next Volume already 🤩
Another awesome video. ! Im a VERY BIG Weapons and Armor fan so seeing what these different races have is VERY AWESOME. !! Matter of fact if i was ACTUALLY able to jump into the world of Faeruin i would want to be an immortal Blacksmith / Fighter that lives on my big ship on the Sea of Swords that has a Blacksmiths Forge with a HUGE Armory. !!! This would be the life for me. !!
I love this!
Thanks ! I've always loved Weapons & Armors. For me it's all about the art of Blacksmithing. !!
"That would be interesting. Although the armory would later serve as collection of relics," The monotone voice informs, "The extention of an ever-growing housing will be needed. Many thieves will come and claim their pick offshore."
The echoing footsteps off the stone pathway play their rhythm. The voice sighs. Cold, brown eyes lay upon the ruin of cobble. Rusted metals bent, broken, and decayed is all that remain on top of the arcane structure. Among them, a rusted iron pipe with a wheelspring and attached flint piece.
"Change is the only constant that I can rely on." The woman smiles. Memories of battles and lives relived... all outlived by her. Many names. Many titles. Many weapons. Many feastings of flesh of the pickings. War, Death, and Peace became the welcomed companions and witnesses...
2:52 yea finally someone who tells EVERYTHING :D OUR HERO
I need someone to teach me to play this game and immerse myself in the worlds created knowing a little of the lore
Editing, images, info are all on point. Always a treat to visit this channel. Ty!
Wow! Looking forward to sseeing Vol. 3!
You produce awesome videos! Don't wanna imagine the time and effort needed to come up with a content like this😅
Definitely a labor of love... but also a full time "second" job! :) That's what makes comments like these so valuable to me, thank you!
Please don’t stop making videos on d&d. This is great
I think this is your finest video yet. Kudos. 👍
Thank you so much for the kind words... /bow
I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
“Far more lore than I had anticipated” is a common take on The Realms.
Maybe so... i meant it, but only you can be the judge if it hit home with you personally.
Either way, i apprecaite the feedback and will use it to try and improve.
Awesome video! keep 'em coming!
Cant finish the video, I keep getting distracted writing the lore into my game.
Ive binged probably 90% of your stuff, man lol. So helpful in my own DMing and just entertaining to listen to while working. Love this series and your homebrew additions to other videos, very creative 👌
Wonder how you could implement the Sarrukh into a campaign though. Maybe a lovecraftian archaeological questline for Candlekeep or the Harpers?
Exquisite lore, thank you my friend.
You are most welcome, really appreciate the watch and comments!
Great stuff man! Didnt have any contact to the D&D universe since i came across your channel and now I am playing in D&D campaigns :D thank you for your great and creative inspiration
Thank you so much for making this video series. I am really looking forward to hearing about a young Jergal 😁
30:10
Widowgasts transmogrification
"This is pulled from history" Brynn podrick airmenroot
Thank you for the comment, but I have to confess I have no idea what you are referring to.
@@RichesandLiches
In the world of critical role a character named Caleb widowgast found a half completed spell that is effectively modified beast. The Partially completed spell was effectively found in a magical time capsule from hundreds maybe thousands of years in its past. permanently on a genetic level changes the species of a character. For instance from goblin to halfling. That character has effectively brought second edition magic into 5th edition.
Oh! That is very cool. I love learning new lore, inside of game and out. Thanks for sharing, I will definitely take a note to check that out.
Can't wait for the next part!
Coming from Warhammer 40k where it's becoming less Tabletop game and more lore... This is an amazing series so far.
Rich has made it easy for me to "like" his videos.
Well done, sir!
This series is excellent 👏
Thanks for the memories !
9:20 Whoa, whoa what hold up, the fey didn’t originate in the feywild? Did they move to another dimension? Or were they so powerful they just created the feywild
It is but one of the official origin theories. You can learn more in the Grand History of the Realms books and specifically an article in Dragon #376 that refers to the Fey as a creator species.
I wil also be covering them in a future volume in this series.
Thanks for giving it a watch!
@@RichesandLiches yay rich responded again! And with lore! *quickly writes down the book notes* thanks, rich, ❤️
On the World serpent ideas. To be fair ALL real world mythos are canon in faerun, which means the World Serpent could also be Jormungandr from Norse mythology.
Wotc: "Nooo! Nothing from any published past works is canon unless it's updated in a 5th edition book! Give us your money! Don't get your info from other sources!
Everyone who plays dnd: "Damn this Dungeon magazine from 1991 really opened my eyes to the depths of Faerun history"
This is great!
Yeah, definitely not all Primordials are Elder Evils. You got the Neutral ones like the Elemental Lords who get worshipped like gods on Toril, and even some good ones like the Archomentals of Elemental Good.
These are brilliant working my through all your work, I love FR and you are helping me immerse myself in it, also 5e dos not decide what is canon DM’s do! Their version of the realms is what counts as stated in the earlier versions and original books you are meant to use it as a frame work. You provide all the information I need to form my version of the realms thank you
My Dear R&L....Ty,but this info IS old to me. But I LOVE the way you spun your TH-cam tale. Keep Up excellent labors of storytelling.
Please see the most recent poll in the community tab... and I would love to hear what topics interest you most!
I homebrew Sarrukh to have influence in being part of my homebrew world in some way. Lol.
So wonderful, great job
Watching this video made me dig through my own shelf full of vintage 1e materials, because I just *knew* I'd seen a reference to these guys in an old supplement featuring various AD&D undead. Did your delve into FR history include "REF5: Lords Of Darkness", Rich? Because there's a sarrukh mummy in that book who's spent thousands of years guarding a pair of Nether Scrolls, that might shed some light on how those guys created all those specialized servitor races.
Damn, can't believe I actually remembered about Hsssthak's tomb, after all these years. Probably just because I was so frustrated at the time, trying to figure out how the hairy heck that book expected us to pronounce "Isstosseffiil". Or "aearee" for that matter. 😉
A Sarrukh Mummy! Dang... i misseed that one but will be checking it out. Sounds like a great story volume. Thanks for the great info and watching!
No problem. Us old fogeys who remember the Dawn Age of D&D have to keep circulating the lore, eh?
REF5 was a pretty good supplement for the time, although the quality and completeness of some of the mini-adventures left a lot to be desired. The mummy section is one of the better short adventures, though, and it might even be the first time that the Age of Thunder was directly referenced in a product: I haven't checked the publication dates on any others.
Oh, and it also shows just *how* disturbingly-far the elves were willing to go, to keep ancient surrukh magic sealed away... 😱
10:25 when I learned about the races I always felt like humans are so embarassing weak xD in the end, time is power and humans have none of that in my opinion. I'm always suprised humans are some of the "stronger" or at least popular races because i never feel like it's very justyfied haha. Can't wait for your next video!!!
Sounds like a lot of options for several Cool adventures!
I disagree with WotC's stance on the events and timelines of previous editions to 5e. 3e had some really good lore and books that covered it.
Not sure how the timeline may or may not overlap but I wonder if the Batrachi inspired the Sload of Elder Scrolls canon.
Where is all the art from? Its so good! Also what are your source books?
I own a commercial use license to create and own the art in the videos (unless attributed/credited to another source). The sourcebooks vary depending upon the topic but i have a pretty respectible collection gathered over the years. For the Forgotten Realms series, I lean on Ed Greenwood's works mostly plus some more focused works like Serpent Kingdoms for volume 2.
Thanks for watching and your comments!
Very interesting, and thank you for your dedication in providing this content in such a detailed and well nerrated fashion. . I have a question. In the Neverwinter Campaign, there is a Creator Race known as The Old Ones, with Morag as their Queen. Are they official to the canon? As they were a very interesting addition to the Creator Races.
The Old Ones as I recall were added from a novel to the MMORPG, so I would have to say that they are not canonical to the realms lore as a whole. But then again, much is left to the world builder. :)
@@RichesandLiches Yeah, fair point. Neverwinter Nights I meant, not Neverwinter Online, sorry. It was a very interesting game, which followed 3rd Edition rules if I remember rightly, (I'm quite rusty as I have only just recently got back into the D&D universe), mainly following the games, Baldur's Gate III being on my list of games to play next. Thank you for the speedy reply. Your channel is excellent, subscribed.
If you read Pools of Radiance, saurians are different than sauruks. Dragonbait is a great character
The different voice was so jarring, first time listinging to this channel lol
Do you have the capacity to turn this channel into a podcast as well?
I am in the preliminary stages of looking into this... aka, it is on my radar for sure!
@@RichesandLiches I'll be there. This is great listening for my long drives.
38:50 IT IS WORTHWILE, Definitively
Ironically the Jeremy Crawford stance of WoTC on the FR canon is, in fact, not canon. The Forgotten Realms remain Ed Greenwood's, their contract does not allow them to retcon old novels and sources out of canon. They can simply not deal with it quite easily given the scale of FR and the time-line but saying "it did not happen" would be a breech in contract. Ed Greenwood himself has a youtube channel and has spoken a little on the topic.
I view the whole thing regarding contradiction in the same way 40k deals with it - everything written is canon but not everything is true. The naration is unreliable by design, leaving the readers/players to explore and postulate whats true, false, propaganda, hyperbole, or just plain fact.
You will be hard pressed to find anything you said that I disagree with. Ed is a treasure... :)
You and Jorphdan should collab.
I like the AI generated narrotator.
is the intro an AI voice?
It is my voice heavily modified by an app... so I guess everything is considered AI now, but I had to actually speak into a mic. :)
@@RichesandLiches cool, it sounded too good to be AI but it definitely sounded electronic in some way. Should have assumed voice modifier first. Makes way more sense.
It's a real shame to see such a high quality channel resort to using so much AI artwork considering all the controversies surrounding it and when there's so many artists and free use art available.
I hope for future videos that this channel gets away from AI artwork because y'all apparently care deeply about d&d and other things, which would not exist without countless artists bringing the imaginations of Gygax, Greenwood, Holmes, Mearles, and so many others to us fans.
I understand the controversy and try to be as open as I can about it when asked. I chose to pay a premium for a commerical license with the hope that someday soon a portion of that - expensive - fee will go to the artists. I do not get any free art and contrary to what many people think, it is a lot of work.
The technology is not going away, so I have chose to embrace it. That said, I understand and respect your position.
I will be the first to admit that I have not reached out to any artists as of yet, but would welcome prioritizing and crediting any artists that wanted the exposure on the channel.
I do not know where to start that process just yet, but you have my commitment that I will look into it.
Thanks for your comments... I take all sincere critiques seriously.
These videos have too much generic AI slop. Use better art direction.
fam these go so hard to me! keep up the great work. im a huuuuge lore goblin so i'll shmoove through your library !🤌🏾🙌🏾