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Originally posted by AuldDragon

Other than deities like Myrkul, Lathander, Jergal, etc., it's really easy to make some argument for or against them having power over undead for their specialty priests. Clerics always do.

Jeff

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Originally posted by Azar

If a god rises in rank (say, from Demipower to Lesser), could that be a reasonable justification for their Specialty Priests to suddenly gain the ability to Turn Undead?

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

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Originally posted by Azar

If a god rises in rank (say, from Demipower to Lesser), could that be a reasonable justification for their Specialty Priests to suddenly gain the ability to Turn Undead?

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I wouldn't, no. It would take a change in the god's attitude or portfolio. Power level changes have more to to with high-level powers for specialty priests. Dropping in status might mean that power granted at 15th level is no longer granted, or rising in power might suddenly grant a new power at that level. Turning is usually an all-or-nothing type affair, rather than something granted upon reaching a certain level.

Jeff

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

Yan-C-Bin, the Prince of Evil Air: https://bit.ly/3WmIjfC

The third of the evil archomentals, Yan-C-Bin is a subtle and hidden creature. He wages an endless cold war with his rival, Chan, while also wandering, gathering information, and using the destructive power of air on various planes. It is said that one day he and Chan will meet, and only one will survive the encounter.

Jeff

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

I've always wondered two things about Yan-C-Bin: how do you pronounce his name? and how can air (or any of the other prime elements) be evil?

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Originally posted by Azar

I wonder how Yan-C-Bin worship flourishes in The Realms when Akadi is the top tempest.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

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Originally posted by Azar

I wonder how Yan-C-Bin worship flourishes in The Realms when Akadi is the top tempest.

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I don't think it would. It would mostly be limited to weak shamans of evil avian races in remote areas and small cults in urban/semi-urban areas that want to gain power from him, IMO. Yan-C-Bin is a very minor player everywhere except the Plane of Air.

Jeff

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Originally posted by sleyvas

I would add to this that Yan-C-Bin might be very active in OTHER planets of realmspace. For instance, amongst the aarakocra / birdfolk of Coliar there might be a very moody group who wants to oppose the lizard folk and use the power of air to destroy them. Since the two worlds are so disconnected, the idea that the gods of the Faerunian, Mulhorandi, Untheric, Maztican, etc... pantheons would impact them can go right out the window.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

Tarsellis Meunniduin the Lord of the Mountains: https://bit.ly/3gWWkR0

Patron of the snow elves, Tarsellis Meunniduin is the Seldarine deity of mountains and high-altitude wilderness. Like the Snow Elves themselves, he has isolated himself from the Seldarine due to disputes and a general preference for being alone.

Jeff

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Originally posted by sleyvas

Nice. I don't recall if the Megwandir as QoA&D was in anything official, but I know I had made that as a possible connection with the whole Auril = Aurilandur the Frost Sprite Queen = an aspect of QoA&D

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

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Originally posted by sleyvas

Nice. I don't recall if the Megwandir as QoA&D was in anything official, but I know I had made that as a possible connection with the whole Auril = Aurilandur the Frost Sprite Queen = an aspect of QoA&D

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That's my creation. I just like to have different possible mythologies when I can so there's more variety and everything isn't quite so obviously true. That said, I don't like the association of Auril and the Queen of Air and Darkness. They don't seem to have any connection or similarity besides opposition to goodly elven/faerie creatures and the late introduction of evil fae = winter. With Frost Sprites being Neutral Good, it seems like it makes such a connection muddier. I prefer the Unseelie court having a character of corruption, rather than one of winter.

Jeff

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Originally posted by sleyvas

On frost sprites, I don't believe I ever actually found them listed officially in any 1e, 2e or even 3e product... which I found odd, but
if you did find them I'd be interested to know the resource. Then again you may be thinking about what I'm about to say. I did find frosts (who are often called snow fairies, snow sprites, or winter folk) in the 2e monstrous compendium FR appendix I. Nothing specifically referred to as frost sprites, but I figured this must be what they meant. For 5e, I actually created a player race based on the frosts kinda, but more of a typical sprite look with a more "tinkerbell" type look. I put them in my "Races of the Adusgi Forest and Surrounding Environs" up on DM's Guild which is for use over in Anchorome. When I did, I added a statement that basically frost sprites CHOOSE their subrace based on their alignment on the good/evil axis (as in their alignment has an actual physical affect on them). So, a frost sprite may grow up in a good or evil community of its kind and find itself an outcast if it develops an alignment opposed to its community.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

Shami-Amourae, the Demon Princess of Eros: https://bit.ly/3DuJl14

Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes Shami-Amourae, the Demon Princess of Eros and the Lady of Delights! Originally appearing in Dungeon #5 and updated to 2nd Edition with the Dungeon anthology The Road to Danger, Shami-Amourae is much like the succubi she claims dominion over. In 3rd Edition she was supplanted by another tanar’ri, but that figure does not appear in any 2nd Edition sources that I could find, so I stuck with the Lady of Delights as described in the above two products.

Jeff

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Originally posted by ericlboyd

Really hurt you didn't like my write-up in Dungeon #148. :-(

--Eric

<joking>

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Originally posted by ericlboyd

Really hurt you didn't like my write-up in Dungeon #148. :-(

--Eric

<joking>

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Originally posted by Brian R. James

Baltas asks a great question about the true nature of Auril, the Frostmaiden. During my time as a Forgotten Realms designer I attempted to weave plot threads into lore that would be slowly revealed over time. The redemption of Auril was one such thread. Sadly, WotC moved in a different direction and I was unable to deliver the full story as I had envisioned. The short version is this:

For the first time in several millennia Auril is now free from the corrupting influence of the Queen of Air and Darkness. The two were once separate entities, then conjoined as one, and are now separate again. After regaining her freedom and true identity following the events of the Stormstar Requiem, Aurilandür is now aligned with Silvanus who is aiding the Frostmaiden in repairing her relationship with the Seelie Court of Stars.

Clearly, WotC is moving forward with Auril being evil, as shown in the previews for the upcoming adventure Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. In my view, the antagonist of that adventure is in fact the Queen of Air and Darkness, now falsely masquerading as Auril while seeking a new host to corrupt with the Black Diamond.

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Originally posted by Brian R. James

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Queen of Air and Darkness

The oldest myths and legends tell of a race of vile entities that once presided over the remains of a dying universe. These immortal beings of evil incarnate had drained their realm of all life and power. So it was that in the last age of their race, these entities breached the barrier between their realm and ours, pushing shards of unspeakable evil through the fissure between realities. With the power of the shards, they hoped to corrupt the most powerful beings of our cosmos into enacting their vile schemes.

Eons passed as the scions of elemental evil slowly succumbed to oblivion. When only a handful of their kind remained, the plan they had enacted so long ago finally came to fruition. A divinity from our realm, capricious and curious to a fault, found and took hold of the shard of evil. To the archfey Aurilandür, the shard appeared as a black ten-faceted jewel, looming entropy reflected in its soulless gloaming.

This unwise act opened the archfey’s thoughts and essence to the vile entities trapped in their collapsing universe. The link from the Black Diamond corrupted the fey goddess in an instant, transforming the once cheerful and benevolent Frost Sprite Queen into a cold and hateful husk of her former self. Wretched beyond any hope of her own physical death, Aurilandür retreated into the dark subconscious of the entity that had subsumed her—the Queen of Air and Darkness.

—Demonomicon of Iggwilv

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Of course, the actual concept of a "queen of the succubi" is hardly new to D&D. Back in DUNGEON #5, Robert Kelk's adventure "The Stolen Power" introduced Shami-Amourae, while in second edition's Planescape setting we learned about Lynkhab.

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Originally posted by TomCosta

Neat thoughts Baltas!

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Originally posted by Baltas

Great articles!

Kanchelsis is a great addition. Is Lolth being possibly connected to his creation, inspired by Drow Vampire 2E lore suggesting Lolth is the source of (their strain of?) vampirism, or connection of Vlad Tolenkov to both?

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Originally posted by Baltas

The connection/romance with Eshebala, and them representing a male and female personification of the dark side of elven nature, is very interesting, and fitting new lore for them.

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Originally posted by Baltas

With Entemoch or Sunnis, fans for years wondered if they are the same enity or two separate ones. It's possible for them to be one - Near-Powers were known to have aspects (if not in the 3E meanig)/forms, for example Verin with his aspect as Ztefano. Also curiosly, Grumbar, Ogremoch's and Entemoch's possible father, has a female aspect on Toril - Etugen.
If separate, I wonder if they are one related. Lovers or some other form of partnership? Maybe one is the the child of the other? If Sunnis is Entemoch's mother with Grumbar, she could also be the mother of Ogremoch, who moved to an opposite alignement to his mother (possibly influenced by the Elder Elemental God?).
With Unguliustûk - great find of this obscure Archomental. I think (when not considered as an alias of Ogremoch), he could be the previous Archomental of Evil Earth, deposed by Ogremoch.

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Originally posted by Baltas

With Megwandir, it's fascinating that she could be either Lolth or the Queen of Air and Darkness. But she might had been both, in context of some obscure lore.

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Originally posted by Baltas

Or that's my idea, and it's 4th edition influenced, so I’m not sure how much you would like it.

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Originally posted by Baltas

With Shami-Amourae, it's great to see the OG Succubus Queen to getting more attention.
I like how the 6 Succubi from her retinue, are named after various succubi, or similar entities from reall life folklore, except Phryne, who is named after a famous Greek courtesan.

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Originally posted by Baltas

With reall life inspiration, I wondered if the "Shami" part of Shami-Amourae name isn't derived either from Samael (sometimes spelled Samil or Shemal, and who is either Lilith's partner, or even her male aspect, as decribed in the 12th century Treatise on the Left Emanation, and latter Zohar), or Samyaza (possible spellings include "Samiaza(z)", or "Shamazya"), both connected to lust in folklore.
If Shami-Amourae has a quite a different origin to them (especially in 1e and 2e), more similar to Lilith's from Alphabet of Ben Sira (and later sources inspiired y it), or Zohra/Zahra/Istahar from Jewish and Arabic stories about Samyaza. It would be a distorted/corrupted spelling, but so is "Amourae" - being a corruption of of "Amor" (the deity's name) or "amour".

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Originally posted by Baltas

With her preference for human, elven or half-elven worshippers and sacrifices (as mentioned in lore since 1e in general), I wondered if in life she was a member of these races, or of a similar race.
(Elves had a "spirit" that reincarnated in 1E, but I think if the spirit advanced from larvae to succubus, I think it would stop/derail the process).

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Originally posted by Baltas

Kanchelsis' and her's antagonism has sense, seeing the set-up. I'm personaly though a bit disapointed Greater Vampires (spawned by succubi), were not touched uppon (and how it plays into the two's antagonism), though I guess them not being mentioned since 1E's Lords of Darkness, might be part of the reason.

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Originally posted by Baltas

In retrospect, it's a bit odd 3E writers didn't just describe Malcanthet as an alias/aspect of Shami-Amourae (and I write this liking both Succubi Queens), though I guess they just wanted them as separate entities.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

Not really inspired by anything in particular other than she's known to have done evil stuff even before her fall. I like there being lots of stories that crop up to explain mysterious things that aren't explained, both to muddy the waters and to inspire other people who want to make something in particular "true" in their own campaign. Kanchelsis is canonically a visitor to drow cities to enjoy his particular brand of pleasure, so it seemed like a reasonable story that people would tell (plus, people tend to be fans of piling all the wrongs they can think of at the feet of their enemies). :)

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

We know that there are non-archomentals who claim that status (Bwimb/Bwimb II, Chilimba, and Ehkahk), it seems reasonable that there might be some powerful individuals who claim to be archomentals but aren't really. That's what I see Unguliustuk, considering he is from a 1e Dungeon adventure at a time when there weren't good archomentals but Imix, Ogremoch, and the like were all *examples* of a larger group. With 2e making it reasonably clear that there are only two on each of the four elemental planes, plus Cryonax, I see Unguliustuk downgraded like the other paraelemental lords. If I were to run a campaign on Elemental Earth, I would either treat Entemoch the same or make him an alias of Sunnis.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

There were some interesting legendary/mythical Mesoamerican figures I considered but they didn't quite fit I felt.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon
I always figured her name essentially means "fake love" (sham amor). :)

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

The material makes it pretty clear she is *incredibly* old. I doubt her original form would be recognizable, except maybe to the Juna. I suspect she has just adapted her preferences to the common life forms that tanar'ri prey upon now.

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LeShay are the mere remnant of a once-great race
whose origins are lost to history. They claim to predate the
current multiverse and refer darkly to some catastrophe
that not only wiped out most of their people but changed
time so that their era never existed, even in the remotest
past. Attempting to undo the catastrophe would apparently
result in another disaster even more terrible, so the deci-
mated survivors—less than gods but more than mortals—
for the most part merely attempt to amuse them selves and
stave off ennui as they work out their individual destinies.

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As elves are to humans, so are leShay to the elves (but more
so): a race immortal, enigmatic, and exceptionally powerful.
LeShay look like tall, thin, albino elves, except that
they lack the oversized ears of true elves (leShay ears
look more like half-elf ears) and, while they have the
glossy dead-white hair of true albinos, their eyes are pits
of darkness.

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Originally posted by AuldDragon

Considering she only appeared in a single adventure and then in the reprint and update to the adventure, it's fair that later writers missed her when they wanted a queen of succubi figure, and it was only afterwards that it was pointed out that there was already one. :)

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Originally posted by sleyvas

Heavy..... {snaps fingers like a hippie from 1970's tv}

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