Just started the video, can't wait to see how you'll rank all 5 of them

@ColorsAndWhatnot

3 жыл бұрын

This needs to get pinned

@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet

3 жыл бұрын

Thank the gods for the inclusions from the other books

@jensenjorgensen1493

2 жыл бұрын

Wait why is it an hour video

Esper: "Pegasi are smart enough to start a culture." Me: "Do you want My Little Pony? Cause that's how you get My Little Pony!"l

@devin5201

3 жыл бұрын

He wants pegasi to have buildings, imagine that, a bird-horse building it's own cage.

@MegaPokefan97

3 жыл бұрын

Make them all sound like Christopher Walken

@jamescampbell2353

3 жыл бұрын

@@MegaPokefan97 cursed. I love it

@MegaPokefan97

3 жыл бұрын

@@jamescampbell2353 Check out this video if you haven't seen the show kzread.info/dash/bejne/Zp2Lt8Z6htyxlbg.html&ab_channel=poprox101

@sherminatoranalysis3429

3 жыл бұрын

I’ve actually seen some good mlp homebrew content

A really interesting part of Descent into Avernus is that Zareil's stat block changes into that of a Solar after her redemption. Just a thought

@MrDavidKord

3 жыл бұрын

And have players with poor rolls, apparently. Seriously, though, don't run the final encounter with Zariel as a social interaction with a roll. If they make the right argument, have Lulu with them, etc., just give them the win. There's nothing more disappointing than failure after such a long journey. The game should end in Zariel's defeat unless they lose to her in combat or choose to be her servants. Loss isn't gritty, it's tragic. Failure happens, but it always strikes me as odd when DMs seem to be proud of it.

@jamesfragomeni8039

3 жыл бұрын

looking back in 1rst and 2ed Bel was the one that took Zareil out have have here imprisoned in his bronze citadel to this day

@archmagemc3561

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrDavidKord In my DoA we managed to get a DC 30 persuasion check, but yeah thats kinda lame. DM also had us try to fight her before that check, and uh.... yeah shes not tuned for level 12 characters. Sure you could cheese her with Dimensional Shackles, Force Wall/Cage, and Sickening Radiance, but she does hurt. xD

@louiesatterwhite3885

9 ай бұрын

​​@@archmagemc3561i have to ask how you have forcecage as a level 12 character. 7th level spells are locked to level 13. And yeah, you arent supposed to fight her at level 12, at all. She is CR 26

@alexbarn3841

8 ай бұрын

@@archmagemc3561she shouldn’t be tuned for level 12-13s lol, she’s an archdevil, she should be able to lay the smack down on 20th level characters.

Regarding the Pegasus. Aren't there plenty of intelligent DnD creatures that have little to no society? I think it makes a lot of sense here; horses are associated with freedom, as is flight. Society brings structure, and reduces freedom. As natives of a chaotic good plane, wouldn't they seek freedom, and strive against any restriction to it?

@MrDavidKord

3 жыл бұрын

Also, there's no proof that society even improves life. Why would a being that lives off grass and lives to run and fly even create a building?

@christianlangdon3766

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrDavidKord I mean aside medicine general knowledge and life expectancy. Plus there wouldn't be way for you to test or know your options without a society.

@TheMightyBattleSquid

Жыл бұрын

@@MrDavidKord You have to be reeeeeeeeeeeal ignorant to hold that opinion more than 5 seconds.

@MrDavidKord

Жыл бұрын

@@christianlangdon3766 Life expectancy went WAY down for people living in urban centers for thousands of years. Modern medicine has improved life expectancy, but during our hunter/gatherer days our life expectancy was in the early 70s. People underestimate what organic food, 3 hour maximum work days instead of 8-12 (HUGE stress level differences), constant light physical activity paired with some heavy activity when hunting, very little bacteria/disease considering VERY low population density, and almost 0 conflict comparatively between humans themselves, all of these things made for comparable standards of living to modern times. Many anthropologists actually consider the agricultural revolution to be the greatest human tragedy.

@MrDavidKord

Жыл бұрын

@@TheMightyBattleSquid You have to be average levels of ignorant not to know this argument. See my statement about anthropologists considering the agricultural revolution to be the greatest human tragedy.

I love how strongly and clearly the soul and emotions of a bard comes through in these videos. You sir have a penchant for storytelling, even when not telling a story.

As an MTG player, I would guess that aurelia has flaws corresponding to the parts of the colors she isn't supposed to embody. She has red and white, which symbolize vigor and selflesness, but she lacks blue, green, and black, which represent thoughtfulness, natural harmony, and pragmatism. I'd personally play her as a zealous idealist, with enough divine power to deflect attention from the fact that her commands, while theoretically righteous, aren't tactically efficient or socially unifying. As you've said before, however, the rankings are based on what is given in the texts, not the mind.

@browncoatebberon7121

3 жыл бұрын

I think she's a struggling egotist, or a self-aware one. Stuck in a "no matter how hard I try to be selfless and right, I always subconsciously do it for the praise and ego-lifting clout that comes with doing the right thing." I can't remember where I saw this but there is something out there that has a bad person start doing good deeds and it nets him a "good high", he craves better highs and tries to do good and while it stokes his ego, unlike the first time when he did the good deed without expecting anything he can't get the feeling back. I think she's similar, in other words.

@RiotKurhein

3 жыл бұрын

What was written in Guildmaster's Guide sounded more like propaganda than anything else.

@2g33ksgamingttv3

2 жыл бұрын

You also have to factor in the fact that Ravnica is a hive of rancid beurocracy and outright conflict is beyond rare, especially for Aurelia as the leader of the Boros Legion, so now you have this hot-headed and peerless warrior queen tangled in a beurocratic nightmare. It is a treasure trove of role playing opportunities

always imagined a planetar's ranged attacks to be arcs of light pulsing out with each swing of the blade.

@devin5201

3 жыл бұрын

Yeeeeah anime sword lasers for the win!

@orgixvi3

2 жыл бұрын

You're thinking of a pulsar.

@Mrikeepgettinmoneyagain

10 ай бұрын

Or straight up psionic blasts from the palms

*Esper uploads a new ranking video* Me: “Hell, it’s about time....”

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

I know, I know

@theyonlycomeoutwhenitsquiet

3 жыл бұрын

@@esperthebard I give thanks to the appropriate deity for your offering of gracious benevolence. May the gods smile upon you, and grant you blessings for your workmanship.

@talscorner3696

3 жыл бұрын

Remember to open the visor, eventually!

@dragonfire810

3 жыл бұрын

@@esperthebard could you do “ Ranking Monsters : Crossbred Hybrid Creatures” it has Uruk Hai, Troglodytes, Half Orcs and Skeksis Video:kzread.info/dash/bejne/iYp91KmIfsappZc.html

I can just imagine an aasimar being descendant of a coatl will make you look more like a dragonborn instead

They do have a Pegasus society. Its called My little Pony

Oh, so Kirin's an actual eastern myth, ok. I thought Monster Hunter just slapped electricity on a unicorn and called it a dragon. Good to know.

One explanation I saw as to why gods rarely send angels is because angels don't understand mortals. Sending an angel to deal with cultist, is not only cruel, it is dangerous, if the angel so much imagines the nearby village was supporting the cultist they will destroy the village. Also angels are very vunerable to corruption, the first devils were born out of angels that were fighting the demmons, pegasus can be turned into nightmare, and even Empyreans can turn evil, maybe they are kept at the upper planes to make sure such corruption doesn't happen more often. Although the fact that there's never been fiend that seeks or found redemption or purification is weird, even if only for the selfish reason of not expending the rest of their existence in the lower planes.

I kept waiting to see the Deathpact Angel on this ranking, and was not disappointed by her placement. Truly one of the coolest creatures ever devised for D&D

Fighting a Death Pact Angel inside a giant cathedral with thousands of ghosts everywhere would be one of the most amazing and also terrifying experience of all times. Imagine that the party kills the angel multiple times in a single round, yet she keeps, coming, back. They see entire families indebted to the angel get blown into oblivion, yet the Angel is looking at most slightly annoyed at the idea of losing perhaps a few dozens eternal servants, for she has thousands and thousands more. It would be the equivalent of trying to kill Alucard from Hellsing. Also playing Nocturne in c sharp minor during the part of the fight in which the Angel starts dying and reviving like a flickering flame would be gorgeous.

Ravnica is a huge place, theres plenty of room to hide from the small amount of archons

@xandolf2852

3 жыл бұрын

This doesn't really tackle the core of the issue he highlighted. What if I wanted to run a city in Ravnica that had archons? There goes any hope of crime related intrigue I could want. In fact, not even crime, but any hope for political intrigue involving deception, squandered because of concepts like the archon and their (what basically amounts to near) mind reading, which seem cool on the surface, sure, but fall apart under further scrutiny.

@The_Sharktocrab

3 жыл бұрын

@@xandolf2852 not really but ok

@The_Sharktocrab

3 жыл бұрын

@@xandolf2852 so do you ban the detect thoughts spell at your table because that presents a similar issue doesnt it?

@keonprs5800

3 жыл бұрын

your comparing a 2 level spell CR 14 legendary creature. they might cause a similar issue in the senesce of mind reading, but its more what its attached to that's the problem.

@The_Sharktocrab

3 жыл бұрын

@@keonprs5800 you're actually highlighting my point that all it takes is a 2nd level spell to do the same thing, and there are way more wizards who can cast this 2nd level spell than archons, in an ecumenopolis what's more

I missed the monster rankings, Esper is definitely one of my favorite D&D KZreadrs

That Death Pact angel feels like a warlock patron. She just does.

I want more chaotic good Celestials in 5e. I like to imagine that somewhere in the Upper Planes there is a vault of the heavens, where a majority of the chaotic good celestials have been locked away by the lawful good celestials that consider them to be too dangerous to be allowed free. I'm picturing a being that seeks to alleviate suffering, delivering painless mercy kills to mortals that are grievously ill or injured, regardless of if they may have recovered with proper care. I'm picturing a celestial muse that gifts mortal artists, inventors, and visionaries with divine inspiration, giving away secrets that the angels would rather horde for themselves. I'm picturing a a being that devours cursed objects, locations, and individuals to prevent such curses from spreading or causing harm, but showing no mercy to the innocent victims that have already been afflicted. I like the idea of chaotic good celestials having noble goals, but order shattering results.

@jacobnoelle8428

3 жыл бұрын

Here hope they add more celestials in a new addition book like "a travelers guide to the upper planes"

@DrLipkin

3 жыл бұрын

@@jacobnoelle8428 I want more celestials and oozes.

@jacobnoelle8428

3 жыл бұрын

@@DrLipkin do you can homebrew? If so then can you share with me? And if not. Than can I use your ideas in my homebrew?

@DrLipkin

3 жыл бұрын

@@jacobnoelle8428 I don't have any statblocks made, but feel free to use my ideas.

@sephikong8323

3 жыл бұрын

I want some more Eldritch type celestials, it is not because you serve goodness that you are beautiful, the divine sphere is also something far beyond our own comprehension, and for those who see farther into these creatures than the horror that is cursing their eyes, their hearts will be blessed by their magnificence Basically : Be bot afraid

Yay! Been waiting on a Ranking vid from you for awhile! No other DnD 'talkabouter' (davvy chappy's term, not mine) has the same vernacular and articulation for description and visual vastitude like you do, Esper. You deserve so many more views than you get! :D

This made my day, truly a miraculous video.

Loved that when you started saying that the religion in D&D is overlooked and the existence of gods is kinda left aside the artwork on the screen was from the card "Godless Shrine" XD Very flavorful

“Pegasi need a society” Have you heard of the tails of equestria tabletop rpg by chance?

Darn too happy to see a new ranking vid from the Bard, you made my day... I was just watching an old one last night saying to myself how cool it'd be to have new stuff to enjoy. Thank you so much and Happy new Year !

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

Happy New Year!

And the Bard has returned

Will we ever see a tier list of monsters from non-offical manuals, like, for example, the Kobold Press ones? PS: Great video

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

Those books are cool in their own ways, but lots of their monsters have problems with their stats, sometimes swinging wildly more powerful than the design approach of 5E.

@Spiceodog

3 жыл бұрын

@@esperthebard I think kobald press does just about as good as official material in terms of balancing ( besides the astral star dragon thing). Maybe instead of the usual tier list you could make a top 20 from each book

@jackservans6906

3 жыл бұрын

You should check out Mordenkainen’s Fiendish Folio for inspiration. It’s a great beastiary of weirder but better developed monsters.

A thought about the radiant idols. You might say they didn't rebel and fall; instead, they were *pushed* out of Heaven by the big dogs, because they failed to live up to the ideals they are supposed to represent. You can DM them as being somewhere on the spectrum between being penitent and desperately trying to win forgiveness; or on the other hand you could play them as being not so far on their spiritual journey, wandering around lost and hurt (and maybe a little resentful), amassing their cults to show their superiors that they can too be exemplars.

Don't know what you're talking about Esper, The Arkon's of Theros are like a third of the whole fuckin book. they ruled over man in the Age of Trax claiming to fight off other monsters but humans remember them as tyrants, the heroes Kynaios and Tiro overthrew the Arkon Agnomakhos and the rest of the Archons. Ther is even information on how it affects the books and plays in Theros! how it affected the Leonin once loyal to them, and they're part of the lore of the hundred handed ones. Sure the line of text right above the stat block is small but in all seriousness they're like every 5 pages in this book it's difficult to read this book and not make a campaign around these guys there's more lore about them in this book than there is lore about mindflayers in Volos.

It's so good to have you back with rankings. I have waited for this day for a very long time. Like, maybe even five months!

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your patience, I've been in a whirlwind of busyness. But hopefully I'll get back to more regular uploads now.

The sun is a star... That is the connection

There is an Empyrean that was cursed to live as a rabbit or some other small creature in Descent Into Avernus, and the players can form a potion to cure it of its curse, though it is written to immediately return to the Upper Planes after its restoration.

The Deathpact could be perfect for a Dark Celestial Warlock, where you may start off the campaign playing another "decoy" character who is then killed to introduce your warlock, as he had his vendetta fulfilled by the angel. Could be super interesting

My personal favorite Celestials are the Empyrean, Deathpact Angel, and Ki-rin in that order. I think the Empyrean is honestly quite easily able to be altered to fit with their Parents or even go against them if their going through their rebellious phase. I made a Faction in a homebrew setting called the Celidna Coalition with to the Titular leader, Celidna, being an Empyrean sent by one of the head gods to ensure their parent's worship was properly maintained. Other Empyreans were included like a Son of the Resident God of Death for a symbolic Angel of Death and a Daughter to the War God for some Amazon Theming. I specifically remember statting out the third one there and giving her a Weapon specifically meant to be able to transform into a Sword, Spear, and Bow and giving them a few smiting spells and martial equipment. I remember reading the sidebar with the Deathpact Angel's ability with Indentured Spirits to let them sacrifice themselves to revive the Angel and I just had in image in my head of a 20th Level Fighter who'd been scorned by the Angel going all out just as the Angel was a step from death and landing all their attacks to both Kill the Angel and all their Indentured Spirits. Maybe they choose to do it as a way to free the spirits from what is essentially their post death spiritual imprisonment The Ki-rin is a very icon Eastern Creature and I think is, in my mind anyway, the next step up the ladder for Unicorns. They're like fully matured Unicorns who're experienced the world and reflected upon it enough to gain the wisdom and peace of soul needed to get promoted higher. I know this isn't exactly how it's supposed to work, but it's just how I imagine it

A lovely hour long Esper video. This is exactly what the doctor ordered!

The Overgod of DND Makes it almost impossible for any outside plain beings to get to the material dimension on their own. So that’s why devils demons and angels need help to get to the material plane.

@shadowlord1418

2 жыл бұрын

The overgod of dnd is the dm

I find it strange that esper has no problem with completely evil creatures but mocks a perfectly good one.

@charlottewalnut3118

3 жыл бұрын

I’ve seen plenty of people who like a defect is perfectly evil but I’ve never seen a single person who I could ever describe is perfectly good to be fair

@shadowlord1418

2 жыл бұрын

Its easy to be evil its hard to be good

Complains that there are not enough good creatures then complains that the good creatures are too good.

@devin5201

3 жыл бұрын

That's what I said too! Next thing you know he'll say evil creats are too evil.

@dafdyy2383

3 жыл бұрын

Not only is that completely fine it's a valid point. He's basically saying there's not enough good creatures on offer and the ones that we have are either so good they're one-dimensional or overplayed archetypes that make their appearance in tabletop gaming since the 80s.( not that that's bad at all, it's just that they're overplayed tropes and archetypes.)

@jerrywhoomst1116

3 жыл бұрын

@@dafdyy2383 I mean they are celestials they are designed to be the pinnacle of goodness, they are otherworldly beings that do not function in the same way as us. So them being extremely good makes perfect sense. I agree there should be more complex good creatures but celestials aren't really where that belongs.

It had been a while. Welcome back.

agreed on your point of aurelia, she actually only became like this when she was pretty much told off by Gideon during RTR (return to ravnica). She was actually a zealous warrior believing in bathing ravnica in war to bring it to peace, hence why she took the mantle from Feather (the guild leader before her who she felt was to "peaceful") in combat, locking feather in a detention sphere. She def had a dark side which she had to move through which would be great for a point of conflict in a campaign.

The goddess Ephara taught humans magic then Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis lead an army of humans to overthrow the Archon empire.

Posted on your KS hoping for an update soon, but this is even better!

In reference to how much the divine tends to act upon the mortal world, I would pose a question. In this case, what are the gods opinions on how much they should be involved with mortals, or even interact with them at all. One one hand, being too present would just turn everything into a divine dystopian battleground, which could be a nightmare scenario for some, and let's not get started with the various IRL holy wars. Others might feel if they go for more of a softer approach, mortals would be bound to destroy themselves or go off the deep end one way or another, not to mention attacks from the outer plains like demons and the such. others more on the neutral alignment will believe mortals can take care of themselves and would rather just retire, in a sense. Finally, those on the more evil alignments just want to exploit said mortals for personal gain or amusement, if not nuke existence to recreate everything per jrpg final boss fair. I can easily imagine a sort of divine counsel arguing about this for years even.

I really don't like how there seem to be so few angels compared to devils or demons. So my reasoning with my games is that devils and, to a lesser extent, demons will take any mortal soul into their ranks, but celestials will only allow true heroes to become angels. Weaker heroes become devas, etc. That also explains how angels can fall, because they still retain some semblance of their mortal flaws.

It's not that the Deva isen't cunning, he don't bring bows because his pride put him in battle by direct means

love how you phrased "the almighty and sacred technique of... parry" just love it

I'm currently playing a Celestial Warlock who's Patron is an Empyrean and our party has been tasked with stopping the Raven Queen's newest offspring which is also an Empyrean. So personally I have a lot of experience with Empyreans in DnD. They are basically Demigods so if you want to create a story that features the offspring of gods then Empyreans are perfect for that.

Finally!!!!!! Finally!!!!!😭 missed your monsters ranking videos ❤️

the beings of light have an allure to them for me that's a lot more interesting than 78% of the monsters in D&D. Aurella seems fine to me. She's exactly what any angel is: a being of pure good. In the same way a demon is a crazy living blight on everything that exists that obliterates everything there is, she's a beacon of unwavering mercy for the potential for peace in all things, and equally unwavering fury for everything that would corrupt and attack that potential. The reason why there's so many monsters in Ravnica is the same reason why there are so many more monsters that for some reason love humanoid flesh in D&D and video games and most modern literature point-blank. Interestingly, many more than there are creatures of forces of good. It's a fucking Tabletop game made for people to have fun killing monsters. It's the same reason that stupid attack on the lower planes by the forces of good failed and reduced their numbers and that absolutely asinine excuse of a concept called the 'balance' exists. It's the same reason why the giants and the dragon's civilization's disappeared so totally and why no ancient race made of super beings that can live for several hundred thousands of years and accumulate knowledge and power at a much faster and more prominent rate than humans is ever as powerful as they damn well should be. YOUR PARTY is supposed to take care of HER job. The entire reality exists to jerk off the players by making them the center of attention and having them be the world-saving super heroes. In order for a bunch of humanoid creatures in a land filled with mythical existences of far more eminent power and intellect to be the one's that save the day, the world has to be fucked up on a level you don't see outside of people's most embarrassing nightmares.

Hollywood comments are so accurate haha. I will never forget being 12 years old and watching Fellowship of the Ring in theaters, being just blown away, and having so much excitement for the next movie. Now days I just see whats already out and which one the wife and I think sucks the least. Oh and the D&D stuff here was good too. 👏🏻

Your take on the spiritual aspect of gathering to play is on point 💯

The reason why so many legendary creatures do not have legendary resistance is because they have magic resistance . If a creature has both they sort of shaft spellcasters to a point where its not fun to fight and as such 5e strays away from stacking multiple defensive abilities.

The solar was the first monster I fell in love with and saw the narrative potential of and has remained one of my favorite monsters.

Your voice is so soothing. Great for storytelling.

The phrase "that's the press release" can solve a lot of overperfect lore, whether it be overperfectly good, evil, natural, or whatever. Just imagine that's what the creature tells everyone, or wants everyone to think. And the reality is... much more akin to the character of someone who'd have that kind of intense desire to be seen as perfect. Someone who doesn't properly recognise how disbelieved it would be, or someone with followers largely blinded to any fault in leadership. Maybe even someone who thinks perfection is attainable or desirable. Plenty of faults you can squeeze out of characteristics like that. It's a good fudge for underwritten stuff.

@christopherbravo1813

2 жыл бұрын

or maybe that's just how humans want to perceive them, because we hate objective evil and objective good.

@Torthrodhel

2 жыл бұрын

@@christopherbravo1813 whatever makes it more interesting for your games. :) if it works it works

@christopherbravo1813

2 жыл бұрын

@Pinko Slink well, we're not talking about real life, we're talking about D&D where the entities are explicitly stated to be good and evil.

@christopherbravo1813

2 жыл бұрын

@Pinko Slink a society of evil tends to be backwards and possess poor living conditions.

@christopherbravo1813

2 жыл бұрын

@Pinko Slink so you wouldn't mind living in a mud hut for all of your life?

Ha ha ha love the starting pray! My second favorite of your tier list so far!

The lore in the book for Aurelia is a little lacking. Her web-fiction on the MTG site actually helps define it more.

Archon of Falling Stars: Was about to fall into the sun (a star). Sometimes names are just that simple Esper.

1:00:20 A well written and well placed Deus Ex Machina can be actually awe inspiring and memorable. Like Aragorn sailing down the Anduin on the corsair ships, unfurling the livery of Elendil and bringing with him the might of Pelargir. A moment of exultation just when all seems lost.

Kirin's Real World Lore: *Its legend was born when an Asian Explorer managed to see an GIRAFFE for the first time and tried to understand what it was.*

ty for the upload !!

Honestly, I wasn't expecting so many in A Teir, I was expecting more in C Teir

i only use things in dnd books as templates for what is essentially a game homebrewed from the ground up, but your rankings are cool and really entertaining

Aurelia lives up to her reputation in the stories. She runs herself ragged trying to make sure every soldier comes back from every mission. She doesn't fight as often as she would like because she's stuck in a managerial position. She doesn't try to help all the poor, she focuses on the legion. She tries to help others too, but the legion comes first, especially since she's restrained by the other guilds. Also, overly politically correct? Is that because they have characters that look like people like me? Is it the black characters that make magic overly politically correct? Or the LGBTQ ones?

Currently playing in a 5e campaign, we are level 8, and my character is an Aasimar (sort of homebrew) Oath of Glory Paladin. As I flavored my character all around becoming a champion of the good aligned gods (he wants to become an Archangel as his ultimate objective), I sort of obliged my DM to make me and my party interact more with celestials. We also reflavored my Aasimar Guide so he could talk to me not only in dreams, but whenever he chose to. And, weirdly as you say, my Guide cannot currently speak to me because he is occupied fighting against some form of evil serpents. That's everything I know for now, but apparently the Angels in my campaign's world actually do something! This is why I love my DM.

@christopherbravo1813

2 жыл бұрын

sounds like Ahriman is making his move at last.

I think it is fitting for a guy calling himself a bard, to have a really pleasant way of speach to listen to.

Desire for adulation by others is insecurity and dependence, not traits of one with a secure sense of self or ego. Not sure how a radiant idol can be egoistic yet simultaneously insecure. Those traits seem mutually exclusive.

Well, technically, for the Archon's lore in the Theros book, we do have some clues, stories of how did they fell from the throne. In Meletis story, two heroes, helped by the relatively new born godess of civilization, reached to kill or something like that the Archon tyrant Agnomakos. From this, and the Star Archon brief lore, we can imagine that the gods decided they didn't want Archons on Theros, and charged heroes to end their domination

This is the best way to explain Evil vs Good and our appeal to it; Evil is exciting and interesting at first, but when you look deeper, you realize it's nowhere as good as it seems and actually quite horrible for all involved. Good is relatively uninteresting at first, but when you look deeper, you realize there's an infinite richness to it that is abundant. As for Dnd, Celestials do lack though

36:32 "Bowses? What's bowses, precious?" Another epic list! Time and time again, you are a proof to how great d&d can be at the right hands. 55:09 the glorious days of ToB... Back when I played 2E, we had an evil campaign with the goal of hunting down good divine beings. It was promising. But alas, after a few sessions it went down the "Who cares about the game, there are snacks!" pit.

About Aurelia being just the word "perfection" but with wings and a face, just write that into your setting as propaganda, i'm not joking here, she's the "Almighty-perfect leader of the legion" it makes perfect sense that all tales of her talk of her exploits and embelish it as if she had no flaw, the Boros in Ravnica have an entire prison in the sky just to avoid being restricted by Azorius law for crying out loud! they are militaristic, ruthless and overall give the vibe that they are 'bout to impose martial law at any second now, it makes perfect sense if Aurelia's description is literally just propaganda! they have all the characteristics of the military of a dictatorial regime and of course they would want their glorius leader to be regarded in near divine status

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

That's a great idea, that Aurelia's reputation for being perfect is just propaganda.

@sephikong8323

3 жыл бұрын

Honestly, this somehow reminds me of the Sternritter in Bleach, these seemingly pure angelic beings that have a dark underbelly of being a ruthless militaristic organization that draws heavy inspiration from the third reich that rever their leader as an absolute god who then abuses his power and their trust in return. That's a combination I really really dig and want to see more of, more angelic beings that fall more into the grey area with a heavy case of power abuse and jingoism

Lol why do you know it's my b-day? A welcome gift :D

@wudenbachs

3 жыл бұрын

Hap birf

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

Happy Birthday Jan!

@janhendrik1227

3 жыл бұрын

@@esperthebard Thank you ^^

I came to see the tier but I stayed for the questions and suggested lore.

I've had the notion that angels don't help out often because they're off fighting vast evil forces out in wildspace or the astral sea, because that's how they can protect the most people

Kind of surprised that JoCat didn't invite you over for his ultimate "how to DM" crossover vid

By the Lord of Light, I have awaited this!

It would be great to see a Cleric ranking soon, even if it might take two or three videos

@gabler7992

3 жыл бұрын

or a druid one

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

I'm working on the paladin currently, though I plan to get around to cleric, druid, and all of them really.

Now that the al--go--rytherium is working, Esper's videos are near the top of my feed. 😉👍🏻

I am still pissed at the fact that no one made the giant flaming wheels with eyes

@elijennings9913

3 жыл бұрын

Don't worry, it's in the midgard creature codex if you want to put it in your 5e campaign.

Finally! I waited for this!

So the falling stars bit has to do with the fact that all enchantment creatures (including that archon) are made of a magical material that is basically the night sky and thoughts mixed. So its falling stars because it has to do with nyxborn entities and the enchantment creatures of nyx are made of starry skies.

I don't get the pegasi complaint. You have wild living celestials (both of which you complain there is too little of in d&d) and the first instinct is to have them civilized? Build cities? Maybe go the opposite route and have pegasi preaching values of savage living to the curious civilized folks?

Deathpact Angels art really captivated me when I first saw it, the art has been the main draw of magic for me since I first started playing

Great Video ! I was thinking about making an angel the villain of my next adventure. This angel would love humans too much. It discovered, that good souls would be better of in paradise and go on to kill them. I thought about it trying to kill our paladin, but we'll see, what's going to happen.

@ryanflorian2047

3 жыл бұрын

you can also give this angel fallowers these fallowers find good hearted pure people to sacrifice or even have them quest to resurrect a fallen god only for it to be a Chichimec that goes on a rampage

Your breakdowns of the Archons make me want to use one as a DM PC for a level 20 one shot.

I have one idea for possibly "improving" Aurelia as a character: basically make her the setting's version of Abdiel. for those of you who aren't familiar, Abdiel is an angel in Paradise Lost who joined the devil, or at least was tempted to, but repented and warned the armies of God of the impending rebellion. now, I'm not sure if there was ever a mass revolt against the Heavens in DnD, but I think it would make Aurelia more of a compelling character if the reason she is so perfect-or at least tries her hardest to be perfect-is because she either rebelled herself or was tempted to rebel, and could possibly be acting this way out of guilt or shame for being tempted or perhaps just a strong desire to prove that her loyalty is real.

@cosmictraveler731

Жыл бұрын

I like this, better than most people's cynical suggestions.

@christopherbravo1813

Жыл бұрын

@@cosmictraveler731 thanks!

51:40 Or you could make campaigns as the smaller, gritty people among the grand scale, like soldiers in the army of these titans. For example, the Booster Gold episode of the Justice League tv series, I think it was called "The Greatest Story Never Told"(?)

In regards to Aurelia, I think that's how she wants to be seen and that's how she presents herself to the world at large. At least in the older generation of Ravinca (When I still played Magic), they were deeply flawed and while they tried to do the right thing, their arrogance was pretty high, which was used against them to show just how blind they were. When proved otherwise it was with anger or basically stunned them to inaction. She's probably the same way, she's wound to tight and ignoring the 'outliers' that don't represent the whole of something, she'll probably snap at some point, like the fallen angel (Zariel?), though she may not , probably not, abandon her position.

I think D&D has to step carefully around religion because of everything that went down in the 80s. You know, devil worshiper accusations from parents, teenagers getting murdered "because of dungeons & dragons", college kids getting lost in underground tunnels under universities, etc.

Critical Role had a one shot where they fought a corrupted Empyrean

@brunoborello8309

3 жыл бұрын

What one shot? Now I want to watch it.

@ZXMFG

3 жыл бұрын

@@brunoborello8309 kzread.info/dash/bejne/mp1p0qeBo5qchKg.html

Celestial Figures: Exist. Japanese RPG: *"THAT'S SOME FINAL BOSS MATERIAL RIGHT THERE!"*

Good gods should each have multiple unique types of angels! Archfiends should have multiple unique types of fiends! Both depending on domains and portfolios!

On your point made during the Solar entry, something like "how can DMs balance or highlight smaller, mortal stories with the presence of many cosmic titans?" I think these is something to be said of stories and games set "in the footprint of titans" as it were. Settings where cosmic conflict is regular may develop bunkers and sirens that protect them from the natural disaster-like battles above. The smuggler's guild pays for rumors and patterns people find in the patrols of the local angels, helping them operate in blind spots, with only the uniformed, desperate, or examples being caught in thier paths. A cosmic force doesn't have to steal the spotlight, but instead can flavor a setting by adding to culture. Good cosmic horror and sci-fi stories are often about being a small fish in the same lake as a leviathan.

i am really happy for this . i always hat a spot for celestials and as a new dm its nice to see the different "monster". i always wonder why there are no player celestials. i guess asimar is the clossest

“Has nothing to do with stars” The sun, a star:”am I a joke to you?”

43:12 I think that such a curse would have its own specification like. "Only returning the staff of Zarkheim to it's rightful place at it's masters side shall end this curse." The Deva's ability is a general rule, these curses or effects would be exceptions.

I'm guessing the reason there's almost no lore for archons in DnD is that there's almost no lore for them in MTG. Kinda odd that beings of such significance have next to nothing written about them.

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

Right???

i am happy that my favourite one made #1

That initial prayer was class ^^

The old empire in theros fell when the gods apeared, the leonin joined the angels and battled against the Theros gods and the other mortal races, eventually losing the war leading to the leonin and angels being scattered and exiled.

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

So the two sides of this epic war were: Archons + Angels + Leonin vs. Gods + Humanoids?

@itaykerensm1629

3 жыл бұрын

@@esperthebard Archons are the Angels i was referring to, sorry if i was unclear. It wasn't just humanoids though, they have satyrs, centaurs giants, and minotaurs.

@esperthebard

3 жыл бұрын

@@itaykerensm1629 Ah gotcha, well there's some solid worldbuilding ideas in such a war, an ultimately hopeless fight against the gods plus all their subjects, if only we had more of this lore in the books.

@itaykerensm1629

3 жыл бұрын

@@esperthebard the book didnt cover much history or storylines, it was mostly lore of characters and gods without a coherent through-line, i did like the book, but it was somewhat shallow.

Your ideas for Pegasus Society reminds me of the Horse from Dave the Barbarian. Alas, what tragic irony. No thumbs!

The only thing missing are angels from the old testament for D&D

@sephikong8323

3 жыл бұрын

Would they count as Celestials or Aberrations ? Yes, the answer is yes

@ezakustam

3 жыл бұрын

The New Testament descriptions are fascinating and bizarre, too. It's so far beyond the "humanoids with wings" thing.

@TheLangenator

3 жыл бұрын

@@ezakustam I suppose there’s a reason that every angel starts a conversation with “do not be afraid”

@charlottewalnut3118

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheLangenator I mean to be fair if I saw someone right now come down and burn a hole through the roof that I was under through sheer power glowing with radiance with great wings powerful enough to sheer through metal I’m pretty sure I would shit myself