Dungeons and Dragons : Firenewt 

I like your point about the capacity for them to have a Good alignment. Now I wanna find a good place to use the phrase: "Get out of here with your mammal morality!" or something like it.

thanks AJ I am 53 years old and played DandD back in the 79 thrue 83 era . ive been subscribed to you for two years now and have probably watched all your monster ecology videos as well as many of your stories ect. my youngest daughte of 24 has taken up playing the 5.0 version .I often give her advice and insight on monsters and clever ideas on surviving dungeons. All I do is parrot what Ive learned from you., but she doesnt know that. Well any how I got a chance to meet her DM and to make a lomg story short I got invited to play with them Im so excited to play this friday I could wet my self. Its all thanks to you or Iwouldnt have been able to talk the talk. Im so joyus that im ready to not just subscribe but support this channel. Your lore isnt just good for the mind it is good for the soul as it has actually has brought my family closer. Truly thanks with all my heart for your work..

🎶I am a fire newt and I'm digging a hole🎶 🎶Diggy diggy hole🎶 🎶Diggy diggy hole🎶

Wow, I'm totally surprised (pleasantly) that AJ took such a hard stance on their evilness.

It always ticks me off how everyone always assumes that all intelligent races need to have the capacity for human goodness. There is nothing wrong with a race being intrinsically evil according to our sensibilities, and whenever one of them is good it's all the more impactful.

John Cleese was turned into a firenewt, once. By his first wife. But he got better, now.

ALL HAIL THE PYROTOAD!!! ALL GLORY TO THE PYROTOAD!!!

Thank you for introducing me to the strider and fire lizards. I will be using them as soon as possible

One cannot talk of Firenewts without bringing up Fire Striders. The ultimate npc encounter would be a squad of 4-5 Elite Firenewt Windriders riding well armored Fire Striders. All armed with flaming weaponry and well trained in phalanx tactics. Equally comfortable making ride by attacks with devastating lance attacks, or dismounting to join their Striders in close combat.

You might have to correct yourself, birds are a subclass of reptile. They have scales, even if just on their feet/legs and a single hole for waste called a cloaqa. Also, for anyone that so very much wants to live beside dinosaurs, we do. They all have feathers.

How would a Fire Newt player character find a way to interact with the 'civilized' races? Just wear a big robe, or of they have the money/ability use an illusion? How would that effect them psychologically? Do they need much interaction? Would they even take that risk if they had other options?

If you wanted a good group of them you could have a elemental made a good aligned god mad so it made his worshipers change to be good and worship said good god. Just a group of terrifying clerics and paladins

I grew up in Washington state, where newts are quite common, due to the weather. My mother hates them. . . I should show her this video and tell her how lucky we were

Just don't ask them how to BBQ!

Perfect... I'm just fixing to start makeing a lizard folk reflavored into a fire newt like race... Again your timeing is amazing

I think this video touches on an issue that I've seen a lot in D&D: making things designed to be hostile (i.e. undead, most evil humanoids, etc.) into much more moral and socially acceptable. Someone I used to play with designed a world where societies use undead and necromancy in general without any moral or ethical concerns as an example. The point of all these inherently evil beings is to show different psychology and different values in non-humans, some of which trend towards evil or alien attitudes. It kind of irks me when these differences are minimized, making all humanoids into "basically human with only cosmetic differences."

Firenewts are just so angry 'cuz they got all them teeth and no toothbrush.

Your comment about reptilian intelligence reminded me of a line from the TV show Sanctuary. "Even if you could teach a lion to speak English, that doesn't mean you could understand it."

At this point, I get my lore from channels like this and I’m ignoring whatever WotC decides to change it to this week.

Thanks for the video. These guys are in my campaign, so I am sure this will help.

As fine a mook monster as there ever was. Perfect subordinates for any conflagratory mastermind.

I love it. Reptile smart, not mammal smart.

Firenewts have been one of my favourite races and cultures in dnd for a while. Iv had plans for a firenewt charecter iv wanted to play for a while but haven’t gotten a chance - a firenewt temple guard of a human church of kossuth One interesting thing about the fire newts at the human kossuth temples from Serpent Kingdoms is that it is stated that the “typical temple of kossuth is protected by more than one hundred fire-newts and roughly half that number of giant striders” (pg 37) a much larger number than i had thought than when i first read the book but yee Love the vid

10/10 Playing a Firenewt warlock of Demogorgon now.

here's a small change i'd add to the firenewt to give them something unique and an interesting edge: their spit fire ability ignores resistance to fire granted by being submerged in water. only that type of resistance, not fire resistance in general. they are semi aquatic beings who start their life in water (pretty sure they'd be amphibians, not lizards, though their brains probably are largely similar (damn now i need to look up at some point how similar mammal and bird brains are)), it makes sense that their fire spit functions under water, which would make an underwater encounter with them more scary as they are actually able to use all their actions, while being largely as restricted as the players (no swim speed but amphibious) making it an interesting challange.

I get it is not easy to live both on a surface and underdark, but anyone who does, got to be awesome

I enjoyed the time you took to talk about mounted combat with this race. When I have played it has not used much mounted combat other than the typical paladin/cavalier. The Underdark supplements as well as as the Dark Sun setting put forth good images in ones minds eye for various mounts used by other races and or that are commonly used for commerce and warfare, I think. A non D&D related subject is Robert Adams and his Horse Clans novels. GURPS had a supplement for this world setting, but think it would be good for a Rifts dimension as well. PS my Halfling Paladin with a Giant Space Hamster for his stead would be lunch to these Firenewts lol

Me like. I think I underestimate the value of creatures that attack in numbers. I avoid it most of the time because as one DM and an average of 4-6 players it get onerous tracking all the bad guys; but as you say dangerous.

More like NEWTral evil amirite

I always thought the connection of newts/salamanders and fire in lore was interesting 🤔

Considering pseudo-elemental creatures are being discussed, would you mind doing more creatures like this? Other denizens of related to the elemental planes. Like the Arrowhawks for example, I'm very interested in your take on the ecology of this creature. From what I've gleamed their biology is very adapted to the natural laws of the elemental plane of air and elemental chaos. They are mentioned to be scavengers but scavengers of what? Apparently they are also sentient enough to speak Auran? Is their ability to shoot out lightning related to the elemental chaos in some way? I'd love to hear you talk more about denizens of the elemental planes. 😀

That has breathed life into an old tired enemy. Thank you

Honestly, these sound like what dragonborn should have been.

Hey! Firenewts are some of favorite enemies to use

She turned me into a newt! … I got better.

4:06 I like almost all of the artwork you use but this is a particularly good choice.

11:44 WHAT IS THIS MAGICAL SPELL? I put off watching this video, and in my unrelated continual research I came upon the gargantuan Ibrandalin false-dragons. A ridiculous Shar-powered transformation that doesn't have a record before Ibrandul was subsumed. Really wierd. Buuuut it led me to researching the Red Lizards due to their potential presence in the High Moor (can't find these "fire marshes" I've heard tale of) and that was a fascinating bit of old research. Then I finally click on this video the next day, and *fire lizards*. Good thing, too. I would have thought they were large or medium mounts. *Red Lizards are masseeve.* Ibrandalin even moreso- but I have no idea how to rationalize their existence besides shrugging and muttering about the cycle of night.

One time i enjoyed pitting them agaist Grungs, in a mountain mega-valley filled with thermal activity. Both craved the heated grounds in a otherwise cold climate. The party sided with firenewts having had already bad relation with grungd and 'cause the renger had a baby strider as animal companion (but went sour really fast when confronted by a Salamander in control of the community).

I have a random encounter chart that I roll for and a hoard of fire newts are one of them. I love these guys

What's the best way to deal with a fire newt? Don't.

Just what I was hoping to find. A new TMG. Made my night actually! How rarely we get what we want, right when we want it. It's the little things 😌

Never heard of these guys in dnd before love hearing about new monsters and races

Funny thing....I'm exploring Chult in Neverwinter right now lol

AJ have you seen the Errata yet? I'd love to hear your perspective on it. BTW, I love Salamanders, Fire Snakes, and Fire Newts.

Just took a dab, so thank you so very much for the cherry on top

So, out of curiosity, how would these guys view a Phoenix or a Flame Linnorm?

Great content per normal AJ, you never disappoint👍

Yay!

Beavis: Hehehehe FIRE! FIRE! 🔥 🔥

Okay, but can *I* eat *them*?

Once again. An impeccable video AJ!

no worry Grug have club and bone headed lizard (Pachycephalosaur) me think me can handle fire lizard. *rolls for initative*

I remember seeing them in Monsters of Faerun in 3.0, but they never looked very interesting. In this assumption, I am always happy to be proved wrong by your videos! :)

the only way you deal with these foul creatures killed them outside before they kill you Wish DND got their own version of the death watchIs Space marine from 40K

Feist pulled off the good aligned group of pantathians at the end of a series. Good twist in a campaign, group gets used to killing them, then after finding and starting in on the always evil group to discover they were trying to help the party, good luck getting those pally powers back after killing off the village peiest.

These are the best ASMR vids.

21:35 I'm guessing the noble attempt of trying to raise up a bunch of firenewt hatchlings on a farm of a retired belt wielding adventure to be contributing members of civilization would work out well when the hard lesson of killing ant eating a chicken has to be taught all: "That belly don't get filled for free!" 🎑😒🐓🪓🪵🍗 When they wake up to hear their adopted "children" in the barn the night before chanting: "You will reveal your sweetness... "🔥🐓🤤 as they notice their fire irons have all gone missing.

Ooo, looks like a stick rolled off the table. Delicious as always, AJ!

Thanks

Ok so my mage is going to cast fire storm while his sky ship navy drops casks of oil and alchemists fire. All while the fire newt mercenaries fight the enemy underneath. I could see these working with fire giants. Who would dominate that alliance do you think? Fire giant or fire newts.

Definitely gave me ideas for my Chult campaign

Angry juice they drink

what are fire children?

Ah yes sometime lore in time for bedtime \o/

Great timing yo!

If we are already making a video about amphibian/reptile races, can you make a video about bullywugs next?

I just thought firenewts were juvenile salamanders.

Ah, finally a youtuber video worth watching.

One day Kiwi ill be first to the commentary. You videos make me miss my original cadre of players.

As always, breakfast is appreciated. :9 Thanks for the gluestick!

They kinda cute.

A wonderful video as always aj! Also would consider firenewts more or less evil that ixitxachitls?

I have gotten so many untold hours of enjoyment out of listening this guys voice. Thank you so much dude. Maybe someday we could play together. I'd really like that. I'm in Chicago tho. Where are you from? New Zealand? I have trouble telling the difference between Australian and new Zealand accent.

I think people focus on the evil word and transplant their personal feelings rather than macro ones. And since more and more of us creatives that play want the game to reflect our more egalitarian sensibilities, this tendency is exaggerated. A shame, I think, because it not only does the opposite of its intention (since it works to exclude a viewpoint on the world, rather than discuss possibilities through individual table gameplay), but also because it (like you pointed out) fails to see that these are creatures alien to us. They are not all going to be pacifists from stellaris or star trek. They are nuanced creatures who can be inclined to actions we might see as good to us or not, but it’s possible a lot of those actions would be bad, if mirrored in our society. Hence why we label them evil. I do think wizards could do better wording their creature descriptions to take this or another more pragmatic look into account, instead of an idealistic one, but meh. The main thing is that a society does not need to function like ours (or how you might believe it functions) to function in its own right. That should be pretty self explanatory, particularly in a game where the goal-by majority of the rules and contexts as written-is to, if not fight, then engage in contests of various kinds with a monster populated and essentially alien world.

Nice to know that even Fire Newts got fleshed out aside from "this is a monster that gets encountered in really hot environments or serving some flame religion". They actually got interesting... no longer being just heat-based combat pieces that only seem to appear in combat encounters.

good video AJ

Lizard mentality is well and good, but In oder to have a soffisticated society that makes use of disciplined warfare you need certain social characteristics. Stuff like, problem solving capability without violence, teamwork, the ability to think beyond one self, mutual trust ... Stuff like "they would rather eat each other then eat farm animals" breaks that. Winning strategies are those that survive rough times and not those that only work with abundance of resources.

Bless the Mighty GlueStick

Maybe I missed this...so these newts are reptiles and not amphibians?

Can I get the sources for the pictures used for fire newts ?

мне понравилось ! лайк и комментарий , для алгоритмов ютуба =)

curved swords

i dont even know how you manage that but this 22 min video feels like 5 min tops... you are a wizzard...

Thanks for the vídeo, good compilation, sad all the writting on these red budies is so bad :/

La

Nah bro, mammal morality is the true morality. None of this relativism garbage please.

When you mean "biologically evil" not entirely sure what you're getting at. What's the natural advantage of torturing things and killing each other? If the argument is that these creatures are biologically antipathic to most other creatures, then what's the biological advantage of a sentient creature culling its own kind? They don't seem to reproduce at the same rate as bugs or plants to where that strategy would have any evolutionary advantage.