Mordenkainen: Unveiling the Legend of D&D's Master Wizard
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- If you know anything about DnD you’ve heard of Mordekainen, but do you know anything about the brilliant wizard who transcends setting? The story of Mordekainen is a story of power, triumph, and loss. He is one of the most well known wizards in any setting of DnD, and there is good reason…
#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #dnd5e
My boi Elminster been done dirty
He’ll get a vid! They are pretty closely related
For real. Elminster the Merlin of DnD and gets slept on .
Elminster is a mary sue simp for the Goddess of Magic.
@justinhammer3196 and thats why we love him 😌
@@The_NaturalOneswheres the vid?
"We're not sure where he came from"; mate, his name is Mordekainen: he's from Finland.
Haha, Greyhawks Oerth Finland so it must be called Ofinland
Mordenkainen's Disjunction is one of the most powerful pieces of magic to ever be in the game.
I don't know if it was made by Gary and Mordenkainen's player first, or if it was created with the Demon Fraz'urlubu who Gygax made up when he'd decided two partymembers with Vorpal weapons was two too many. And created a demon with Disjunction just to destroy those swords he regretted giving out.
Oh wait Mordenkainen WAS Gygax.
Yeah mordekainen was Gary's original character. The whole party gets shout-outs in earlier editions. This one just stayed popular throughout.
Sadly you attribute Dungeons and Dragons to Ed Greenwood. Granted he is the father of The Forgotten Realms, but the true founders of Dungeons and Dragons are Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Greyhawk was the original home setting used by Gary himself. TSR was the original publisher that went nearly bankrupt in 97 and was eventually purchased by Wizards Of The Coast.
Yes, you are correct, speaking in this context I mean Forgotten Realms setting and lore. Misspeak on my part!
You're neglecting how many years Ed worked on other projects. He was there to help shape some of the TSR products as a consultant while he was still publishing in Dragon Magazine.
Ed's definitely a forefather of DND even if he's not literally one of "the creators" he's definitely been one of the most significant creators of official lore..
Ah yes, Mordenkainen's famous brother, Mordekainen.
I'm running CoS and my party found Mordekainen. I like to think that he was just this half baked dude covered in poop and mud screaming and attacking the locals that he will not join them in their dark quest against the Dark Lord Devil that is Strahd. And because of the great embarrassment of that happening, he pretends that never happened.
haha nice
Mordenkainen's disjunction, the best mage dueling spell of all time.
And the best way to make an enemy of all of your players as a DM 🤣
@@Foretelling If you want to piss them off, you'd be using Epic Spells instead of these puny level 9 spells.
How does my boy here only have 900 subs ? These are so professionally done
Seriously you deserve way more views!
Mord is cool and all, but Elminster has him beat.
I'd say the greatest wizard is Elminster but Mordenkainen is a close second
Fair enough! It’ll take a while to make an Elminster video with all that’s out there
Vecna and Iuz are clearly more powerful. They've managed to ascend their mortality.
Is Mordenkainen stronger than Iggwilv tho? Are we talking only male Mages? or are we just talking good aligned Mages?
Elminster Aumar is the strongest wizard to ever exist in D&D and always will be young buck.
Sorry sir, I’ll remedy this
Vecna and Iuz entered the chat.
Raslin brother of Carmen is not amused...
If strahd could beat a multiversal wizard how tf could a lvl 10 party take down strahd?
Storytelling. At the end of the day they have to give these guys stat blocks. In my head a lot of the lore of the books is different from the modules that have player characters in them
They take on Strahd as a group, hopefully with allies and powerful artifacts that are available. Fate chose them to find these items, where as Mordenkainen went in solo and underestimated the true power of Strahd. The party beat Strahd the same way he beat Mordenkainen, not taking him or the group as a threat.
he's definitely not the most powerful. vecna would disagree. he's just the most generally recognized name, since he has spells named. but so does bigby. zagyg might have been more powerful. rary also killed most of the council too, like vecna did.
As a rather humorous point: Mordenkainen is an 18th level wizard. Just to give you an idea of the scale of power player characters operate at when attaining 19th and 20th level.
Wasn’t he higher level in previous editions? And does he not also have some extra powers that ostensibly put his CR well above 20?
@@jemm113 I'm not talking about his CR.
He has 18 Wizard levels. Class levels are not the same as monster CR. His CR is likely well above 18, yes.
This is actually a misnomer - he's been multiple levels throughout multiple editions. Most notably, even exceeding 20th in 1st and 2nd - where you had adventure modules for up to 100th level! :D THE WILD DAYS!
@@LAJackson123 In 5th and 3rd Edition, Mordenkainen is an 18th-level Wizard. If that clarifies my point.
Sorry, but I have a character in NWN as a level 26 sorceress, level 4 bard, and level 10 Dragon Disciple, level 9 spells plus Devastating Critical with my rapier.
Really interesting video mate. Been playing D&D on and off for nearly 20 years now and I only know vague bits on the actual canon lore of it.
Keep up the excellent work
Thanks man, appreciate the kind words
Greyhawk Oerth is pronounced OYth - as if Bug's Bunny was pronouncing it.
Really?? I’ve seen many pronunciations, including just Earth. Do you know if that’s in any of the books or anything?
@@The_NaturalOnes According to the official pronunciation guide in Dragon no.93 (January 1985) p.28 and Gary Gygax on an EN-World Q&A: 'Say it as Oi-th as if you were from Brooklyn, and that's the way I pronounce it. That annoys all who take a fantasy world far too seriously.". But I met Gygax at a convention in 1983 and asked him whether drow was pronounced drow as in 'cow' or as in 'go'. He said something like - 'I say drow [as in cow], but it is your game, say it how you want', so Gary was not doctrinal about pronunciation.
You are correct in both cases. I dont care what they say is canon now.@@elliotvernon7971
It's shame how WotC ruined Morden.. Like how is 9th lvl wizard able to beat legendary epic boon 27th lvl wizard is beyond me, one simple sunburst spell and petty Strahd would be dust and ashes.. Gygax would be so disappointed with them..
Nice video and really nice content you're doing. Keep up good work ^^
Hi! Can you please, inform the web links for all those wonderfully drawings?
Which ones?
I am actually kinda shocked they did Mordekainen that dirty in Curse of Strahd. Mordy K is for sure an epic level caster in any system, and Strahd...is definitely not. They could've used another very famous greyhawk mage if they wanted to! I think all the ones that died got better, and there are tons of them! (Well, at least 8!).
And everyone who played at least 2nd (Or, say, played Baldur's Gate) even knows of them since they kept the spell named after those original greyhawk characters. Bigby, Tenser, Otto, Otiluke, etc.
Ya kinda feels like they wanted a bit of a big reveal for the mad mage, and mordekainen is probably the biggest name
The way I look at Strahd's RAW stats, he is so positive that he can take down the party and other opponents that he handicaps himself. He doesn't see anyone as a true equal and for that he will never put his full effort in beating an opponent.
Remember that in the book, one of his goals is to find a successor. It states verbatim, "he (Strahd) shifts his attention from Ireena Kolyana and van Richten to his new guests so that he can determine whether any of them is worthy to be his successor or consort. (Eventually, he decides that none of them can replace him as master of Barovia, but he doesn't arrive at this conclusion immediately.)" pg 10 Curse of Strahd Adventure Book.
He believes that he is the best of the best and everyone else is dirt beneath his shoes.
When your talking about strahd in this case, your not just dealing with “strahd the vampire” your dealing with “Lord Strahd” vessel of the “dark powers” of dread. In that scope…I can see it.
@@The_NaturalOnes the mad mage Halaster?
Mordenkainen is an 18th level wizard. He absolutely should've been able to fight the CR 15 Strahd von Zarovich.
Karsus, anyone?
Halastet blackcloak
I thought Iggwilv was the strongest wizard
Well she’s a witch
Lost to Strahd? Wuss. My group of 4 killed him in 2 rounds. First time DM.
Haha I was actually thinking this when I made it. He’s only a CR 15 which isn’t crazy
Is he more powerful then Elminster?
Not close, Elminster is the strongest being the chosen of the god of magic, plus his silly wizard levels, magic items, etc
Mordenkainen was Gary Gygax's player character, so he was as powerful as he needed to be.
I wonder where current Gromph Baenre would stack up now that he also has the psionic abilities learned from Kimmuriel Oblodra and the Illithids.
But can he Beat Sukuna?
His clone can beat a thousand sukunas lol
Perfect example of why 5th edition writers are so ungodly bad.
Mordenkainen is no match for Strahd, yet a few paragraphs later, If Mordenkainen were to succumb to his madness who knows what threat he'd be across the multiverse.
Translation: We woke 5e writers didn't like Mordenkainen because he's male, white and insert woke reasoning here. So let's screw with him... OMG my next book is a D&D source book, let's do a highschool galla!!
It is really bad writing but I doubt its beacuse hes male and white, cmon. Besides, they messed up pretty much everything even the flumphh.
Edit: no idea how to spell flummph
TH-camrs: Mordenkainen is the greatest mage ever.
Elminster: Hold my wand
Precisely.
Indeed
Do a story on the Mage Raistlin meijeri he studied in the tower of high sorcery .
Would love a vid on raistlin majere
Would be cool to have one for the Dragonlance people lol
Elminster = Gandalf
Mordenkainen = Bald Saruman
Elminster Gandald Sure... Mordenkainen for Saruman though??
Elminster = lecherous self-insert of the author
@@edheldude Sam for Tolkien, then
That is, if you never considered characters escapes their creators at one point.
He's like the Sorcerer Supreme in Marvel
He was, until the woke 5e writers screwed with him.
Likely was an inspiration
@@sirellyn what is your definition of woke
@@Henbot a"WOKE"en to a critical consciousness. i.e. Someone with the critical (cult) theory belief system who put it into praxis.
I think you mean Elminster
Ya…
Elminster is way more famous than mordenkienien
Maybe, I certainly had heard more about Mordenkainen, partially since their are source books he’s written about. I think maybe Elminster is in more books but as far as recent editions I think Mord has been a bit more prevalent
Only because Elminster is basically a demigod at this point. He is a chosen of Mystra, the strongest Wizard in any reality, is usually stated as a epic wizard with levels of rogue and fighter as well. Making stories with him for gameplay is really hard.@@The_NaturalOnes
@@The_NaturalOnes5e lore is watered down. Any other edition and you’d know Elminster but WotC decided they don’t care for him this last decade for some reason.
I prefer his lesser known younger brother, Lessdenkainen. 😊
What about Mortykenian....the apprentice of Rick Sanchez....lol
Mordenkainen*
Elminster rocks best! ✌🏻😁
Here's a good food for thought: If both parties were/are at their highest peaks of power, who'd win in a fight, Mordenkainen or Tasha?
Between dalamar the dark Tasha they fey elminster or mordenkainen I think if they got into a fight to the death the simbul would win
Laughs in larloch
Sorry to be this guy. Seriously.
But you forgot the N.
Its Mordenkainen, not Mordekainen. You even showed books with then name...lol
Apparently you have never heard of Karsus.
That would be really embarrassing considering I have a video on him. Ya you could debate who stronger, Mord definitely has more feats recorded in lore, but Karsus probably wins in raw magical prowess
@@The_NaturalOnes My bad this is the first video of yours I came across.
@@jaredrobinson7071 No worries, just jokin around
well, I give the crown to tenser. Morden "kane" in has nothingon tenser.
Neat
Elminster litterally one tap him
what about elminster
Mordenkainen isn't even the greatest wizard in Greyhawk, let alone all of DnD.
Who is?
Many would argue Elminster…
@@kanedonaldson1248 The Symbal....she is about 30 plus levels mordenkainen is low 20 level.
I've created use the Mage Raistlin he studied in the tower of High Sorcery the black robes he was trainning in was killing him due to the Black arts he was trainnning , so he went to the Neutral Red robes of the Order of Mages , he is my Character that i've use in Dungeons and Dragons i am now Raistlin a level of 39 he is well beyond anything that the world of D&D can throw at him ..... am very proud of my Mage Raistlin ......
The real raistlin went from the red robes to the black and his deal with a dark mage fistandantalus was what gave him bad health. He fought and beat the dark queen takahisis but didn't like that future so conceded defeat and earned peace
4:56 Now thats some wallbreaking lore
SIIIIIIICK Video :)
Thanks!
Kickazz vid bruh!!
Some of that canon is questionable. Mordenkainen was Gygyax's character and he never played his PC in Forgotten Realms.
Really isn't. Either Mordenkainen doesn't exist in YOUR world cause he's Gygax' PC and you dont okay Greyhawk. Or he became powerful enough to travel the multiverse bringing his legend to every new edition.(If youre actually only playing greyhawk Theres even less wrong with his travels)
Iconic characters can be turned to NPCs. And Mordenkainen is the prime example for an iconic mage.
The character's changed and is part of the games lore. If you feel you're stealing someone's PC simply don't use him(or any NPCs for that matter) and make some up. Noone forces you to use Vecna/Tasha/Mordenkainen etc but saying "this character cant travel the multiverse cause his player wouldnt" makes zero sense. That would imply Gygax wouldn't Play Mordenkainen is character and the one we got in lore is a version from a different universe(parallel-Mordenkainen) either way i look at it, it makes LESS sense for Mordenkainen to remain in greyhawk than to use his abilities and explore the endless unknown
@@onkelreyleigh6353 Well, I don't use Vecna, Tasha or any other fabricated NPC as I prefer creating my own characters, but as far as Mordenkainen goes: it was Gary's personal character that he rolled-up back at 1972 at level 1 and he never allowed anyone else to play the character or even revealed the stat blocks or PC sheet in any publication. So sure, people can "use" Gary's creation in their games and WOTC can do whatever they what with the character as it's now their IP,, but in all honesty what you have is not the actual character of Mordenkainen that was created by Gary and built-up from years of gameplay, but an carbon copy imitation that was never meant to be used as an NPC.
@@samiam9538 as i said: treat him as a multiversal copy then. In all honesty i'm not feeling too bad about using Gygax' PCs. Out of everyone involved with TSR least of all his
@@onkelreyleigh6353 Anyone can use Mordenkainen just as much as Gandalf or Conan in their campaigns .But because I want to honor and accept what those authors envisioned for their creations, I wouldn't put them into my games. Besides, I can come up with my own wizards and barbarians.
@@onkelreyleigh6353 It's not...Exactly a multiverse because the various worlds of the Prime Material plane are not spun out of alternate timelines, they're actual worlds within the same Physical Reality. Thus the ability to bounce to an outer or inner plane and back into a different part of the Prime, or to Spelljammer your way over. Well, other than Strahd, Mystara, Dragonlance and a few others which have various different forms of protection from intrusion through other planes or via Spelljamming. (Like Mystara space being actual airless vacuum without any sort of Ether or Phlogiston)
Eberron also has a fully unique cosmology with different planes so it's arguably the only one that's actually "Multiversal"
book gandalf > all
I mean maybe, but did book gandalf ever canonically drink soda whole sitting in Ed Greenwood’s living room?
@@The_NaturalOnes "Hey Gary, I want to write articles about our characters visiting my house." "Yeah sure Ed, just remember to clear it with the lawyers this time"
The most powerfull wizard Is 5th edition becasue it killed all the fun out of dnd lmfao lvl 10000 kill all fun spell...bg3 is trash
Mordenkeins disjunction is the most op 9th other than weave ban .
*mystra's ban
The game of dungeons & dragons proper is set in the world of Toril which is the forgotten realms... greyhawk is not a dungeons & dragons setting...it is the greyhawk setting.
There’s no “proper” dnd setting, it’s a multiverse with many campaign settings. Forgotten realms may be the most popular, especially in 5e, where it certainly feels like “the” setting
Greyhawk is *THE* Dungeons and Dragons setting, it was the one most GMed and played by its Creator. However being his main setting meant others didn't get to write nearly as many novels about it, and thus it(And Mystara, another of the true OG DnD settings) ended up sidelined by the settings with more Secondary fiction, especially when the licensed videogames wanted recognizable novel characters and thus would further double down on using Forgotten Realms. (Or Eberron for DDO strangely enough, though they goofed up and gave Eberron a Forgotten Realms/Greyhawk style underdark with Drow)