Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Spell Weaver 

Thanks for the shoutout man! Spellweavers are hands down (all six of them) in my top 5 favourite monsters. Excellent video!

"No magic user can compete with the speed of a spell weaver" I take your wager and raise you one beholder mage.

I wonder if the obsession with the number six is based on the elder things from HP Lovecraft and their obsession with the number five.

When it comes to depicting the strangeness of Spell Weaver magic, technology, gadgets, do-dads, and all that stuff, *Numenera* sounds like the absolute perfect place to draw inspiration from. It's an entire setting based on the idea of quite literally countless incomprehensibly ancient and mindbogglingly advanced civilizations having risen and fallen and risen and fallen literal geologic eons before the setting's present day, with nearly every single one leaving behind utterly bizarre technologies that may as well be indistinguishable from magic and which make the most sophisticated technologies we will have five hundred years from now look like flintknapping by comparison. So, yeah, long story short: Lots of weird old shit that would fit right in with these guys.

I have to say I'm always a pretty huge fan of the whole "they're so advanced we can't understand them and we're so primitive they can't understand us" idea. Sure the lore makes it perfectly clear they can communicate to beings on our level fairly easily, but I love the idea of, say: Even if they sincerely want to communicate with a us, it's every bit like us trying to communicate with a dog or cat. Possible, yes, but very challenging and requiring a lot of cooperation between both parties.

I did a dragon magazine prompt with this. Thanks to a natural one. The spellweavers managed to complete The Code Of Reversion. It was quite memorable as tens of thousands of years was undone. Dead Silence then the guy tosses his die into the trash can XD

The power they have to restructure reality reminds me of Truename Magic. If only it had been implemented better than what it was. I think it would be very flavorful and appropriate for them to use Truenames to alter reality. They are a very interesting race.

It's sad that they're not more present in the lore, they seem really interesting, although I guess it does make sense for them to be forgotten. Their goal and the way they go about accomplishing it, really reminds me of Nox the antagonist from the first season of Wakfu. That kind of backstory/goal always make for a cool character(s), although the period of time the Spell-weavers are trying to erase is so mind blowing huge it make it hard to emphasize with their goal.

6:00 That explains the specifics of Jergal's "reborn as six gods" strategy.

The illustration at 6:22 has 7 arms... clearly an outcast of his race.

This is one I come back to again and again. These guys are, to me, the epitome of an endgame boss/antagonist. I am obsessed.

I'd love to see more about beings like this or Illithids. It gives you a bigger picture of how the multiverse is laid out from the writers. They were on to something huge when all this was conceived. And not much content is out there tackling this. The only problem i have with how all this is laid out currently: the exceptionally short time Faerun is. It would make more sense if it was billions of years (like our own 4.5 billion years). 40K? Is nothing comparatively.

The famous swamp at the time of 1371DR had connections to time traveling Netherese arcanists. As populated as Cormyr was at that time it still had outlying areas & ancient dungeons & tombs dating back to the fall of Netheril. Some Netherese fleeing the life drain settled Cormyr & the Dalelands as they fled southward. These spellweavers can still be found today hiding themselves in these dungeons. Great video A.J.! Yet another wonderful recollection from the vast history of Faerun!

This reminds me of a creature i created once, It was a crossbreed between a mind-flayer and a spellweaver, it was utterly broken and i have since agreed it never should have existed to begin with. but it was interesting having a single creature both be a master of the arcane and a master of psionic power, with a genius level intellect and no moral compass. But so utterly broken, hilarious but broken.

A meeting between the Spell Weavers and the Mind Flayers would be an interesting one...

you know is truly a testament of how good your channel is the fact that where i'm is 4:00 AM and after a long day of work i willingly decide to stay awake to watch your video (the last thing i will do before i go to sleep ) :)

In a odd way vecna is actually protecting the multiverse for these six armed nutjobs

I'd love to get in on a game with any of this. It's hella interesting.

This is a great GOO warlock patron idea

Would be fun to somehow combine the code of reversion with the mind flayers resetting time over and over in a campaign

So basically Spell-weavers + Tharizdun + Mindflayers is a bad bad bad day for the multiverse.

That overwhelming telepathic Blast from trying to read their mind would be completely useless against a psionic character empty mind is a pretty useful ability so is split mind

spell star seems like a really good way to get around stuff like wizards who really like to overuse counter spell.

Would a Mindflayer be able to telepathically speak with a Spell weaver? Given the "age" of the Mindflayer empire and their eldritch telepathic inclinations? How would they interact? The Mindflayers might have a personality crisis if their spot as the old hyper intelligent alien race with mind powers was questioned.

If you believe NASA, the only reason we can't normally make glass as strong as steel or even stronger is because of the presence of water in our atmosphere, And how hard it is to remove from any glass when forging it, But if we were to attempt to make glass On the moon or somewhere else that doesn't have much water, According to NASA we could make glass as strong or stronger than steel.

A force of Spellweavers vs Sigil would be an amazing campaign.

Thanks to this a new faction was born in my head. A large group of Spellweavers through self-reflection realized that their mistake wasn't the disjunction but their arrogance and lack of care for life. Whether or not they believe the gods are gods is immaterial because they aren't gods so their attempt to become one is both counterintuitive and the sole reason for their destruction. Realizing this they started gathering and tutoring good natured humanoids and really any good nature creature that has the capability to learn and ended up creating a civilization or culture that focuses on the discovery, study, and reverse engineering of ancient cultures temper by discipline and spiritual self reflection. They failed so maybe these races, should they learn from the mistakes of others, could fair better. After all they are little more than wraiths now as their original selves died a long time ago.

HP lovecrafts "The shadow out of time" The great race of Yith, this race of spellweavers are as close to the yith as I have ever seen.

Ohhhh definitely using these in my Campaign

15:20 On the Spellweaver's ultimate goal of reordering the universe, then bring stricken by a civilization ending calamity that they are presently endeavoring to walk back to reshape the universe back into what it was before: Final Fantasy XIV's "Shadowbringer" expansion might have drawn on this thread. /// The Amauratian primordial race caused a calamity in a presently-unknown way. They manifested a God, which decimated them. To solve that problem, they created another, lesser God, which defeated the first, but split their world into 14 distinct planes, which they are attempting to rejoin into a singular whole again. /// I love finding these creative tethers between media I enjoy Thank you for making these videos!

Great video!

Excellent!

I think a funny idea if they succeeded in their goal within the forgotten realms would be the Speelweavers all alone and then they see Lord Ao looking annoyed.

Wow. So as long as one spellweaver is alive then there race can go on? Since one creates 6 and each of the 6 create 6 more and so on.

Incredible!

Very cool!

Clarification the spellweavers are not atheist by traditional definition they are anti-theist this means that they are against the worship of Gods an atheist is someone who lacks belief the spellweavers know the powers of the so-called gods they do not worship them because they do not believe in their divine nature they rejected as a premise this makes them anti-theist

Hey A.J. this was Fabulous! I love the spellweaver, think you can do a vid on the demon prince Dagon?

I had Crystonians, the more human ancients to Loom of Magus (my campaign multiverse) battle Spell Weavers as virtual equals late in their development. Crystonians practitioners of magic were multi-dimensional in communication, so they were just as confusing to Spell Weavers as they were to Crystonians. The first Crystonian magic users were called "Loom Weavers" and the first psychics were called "Loom Spinners." Spell Weavers encountered Crystonians after the Loom Dragons creation of Loom of Magus when the lower planes tried to invade and failed. They were perplexed by how easily the 4-limbed Crystonians were so easily able to understand and counter them, and even more perplexed about how they were able to summon enemy outer planar beings who hated them. They saw the divide in the Crystonians when they became the High Crystonians and Necronians as well as the "civil war" that created the multi-star-system multi-hierarchy system of millions of gods. Loom of Magus is a "silver sphere" 100,000 light years in diameter and also exists in all the outer planes. It is fringe when it encroaches, non-existent when it is not allowed. I don't do nerd vs. nerd smack-talking. Loom is my multiverse if you allow it. If you don't allow it, Loom does not exist there. Easy-peasy.

Man what an awsome race to mess around with in a campaign!

13:05 What do you mean they don't sound terrible thus far?? They use SOULS as fire wood... You and I have a very different definition of the word "terrible."

I just fell in love with the spellweavers 😁😀 I've always thought the same about the Gods in Faerun (coming from Mystara, the whole thing is too theocentric. Especially that magic depends on a sentient being that might be substituted by another (if Lolth is to be believed))

Oh and tell the Spartan as he's fighting for his life trying to pick up a rank and file marine that his sgt in terminator armor is right behind him and says hello

I like to think of them as kind of like the great race of yith with their technological and magical expertise and their exploration for knowledge

Always loved these guys makes for an interesting campaign in which they could start as allies, or rivals, even could just be shadowy patrons to a group or even specifically as a warlock patron. Though i also used the name for a mage-class that is able to physically weave the many threads magic into the forms of spells, but need to make certain tat checks based on the level of the spell they want to use, as well as with modifiers if they want to alter spell, or if they had first hand knowledge of the spell itself.

Cool, now I know what inspired Ascians

Bcs of their obsession with 6 they must like Iron Maiden.

Really like the idea of these guys. I'm imagining what happens if they were to decide to become a lich as it won't matter after the "universal factory reset" anyway

I find it ironic that it is Vecna that keeps mortals from getting to know to much about SpellWeavers and what they’ve discovered. But I guess when the entire multiverse is concerned all/most types of gods must agree on keeping them at bay. Makes me chuckle a bit at how the spellweavers consider Lord Ao. I wonder how would they react if they knew of the Luminous Being or the nature of such higher powers.

Anyone else find it funny that the picture on the screen at approximately 5:30 has seven arms and not six? LOL

This is perfect for the horror game I'm coming up with, oh man thank you so much. Two questions though, is it mentioned anywhere how many gems they created, and where can I find out more about the silver hexomeric folio and other items they've made?

Love your work. I listen to all the content I can find that you make. Quick question.... What do you call it the mighty gluestick channel?

These Spellweavers make Asmodeus look like a good guy in comparison.

good slideshow

Watched the Dungeon Dad video and I get to to watch the TMG version? I am okay with this.

wow listening to the tail end of this video gave me a dirty idea, and draining magical items to replentish spell slots. make a Spell Weaver also a spellfire channeler. lol

I give them the ability to sacrifice the use of one hand and thus the extra spell casting to concentrate on more than one spell at a time, one per hand. Perfect creature to break spellcasting rules.

8:58 You mean without any Material Components, since Somatic Components are physical movements, like hand gestures?

Really interested in the Silver Hexamatic Folio

These would make for an interesting Sorcerer bloodline Homebrew. Allowing the Sorcerer to use hit points, make the chromatic disk, yada yada, to eventually being able to Spell-weave maybe up to your Sorcerer proficiency bonus. 🤔

spell level/hp!? Sounds crazy!

16:10 Soulds like a plot hook for the new book Eve of Vecna.

*Minor spoilers for Bastion, a game that came out in 2011* Oh wow, the code of reversion sounds a lot like what Rucks planned to do after the calamity. Some really nice questions brought up by a cosmic reset button.

I know this is an old video, but there’s new, relevant lore. To avoid spoilers, I won’t detail the lore itself, but will tell where to find it. See the “SECRET OF THE OBELISKS” sidebar in Chapter 7 of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden.

What is the creature you mention them encountering from a mirror universe?

Amazing video! What was the name of the mirror universe and species you mentioned ad 10:30 minutes

Lol, "diamonds, ice crystals, rpg maps, d12s. The things are everywhere" Nominated for best AJ Pickett, ever.

Sound like the mysterious leaders of Shadow Wizard Money Gang

In my setting a contingent of post-disjunction spellweavers settled in Atlantis because they happened to find an island with a universe reset gem and prehistoric humans to promote as their favored people. The spellweavers kept humans as fodder for their powerful magics; however, in time they treated humanity as pets and Atlantis became a high-tech paradise, which seeded human civilization world-wide. Human magical hubris destoyed the city, yet the ruins still hold many arcane wonders and the final hopes for the endangered spellweavers. Will the adventurers restart the magical patronage (and exploitation) of spellweavers or snuff out their civilization for their own ends?

So reprodution via way of magic Neco Waifers?,.......got it.

I know I'm late to this, but I had an interesting idea of how to make a campaign about a resurgence of Spellweavers work. Suppose the goddess of magic at the time (can't remember if its Mystra or Mystral etc) was responsible for the spell to revert the universe failing. With her control over magic, she manipulated the spell so that it would fail, and cause every being but her to forget about the Spellweavers' existence. Why make them forget? To ensure that the Spellweavers empire would stay down, and have no help from any powerful interlopers. Mystra herself could then monitor the weavers herself, keeping them hidden and killing them where possible. Problematically, that goddess of magic is now dead, as a result of Karsus' actions at the fall of the Netheril empire. So now the only deity keeping them in check is dead, and the Spellweavers quickly make a comeback.

this also makes me curious, how does their lore and the kraken lore interact? which is older? do they know of eachother?

VIDEO IDEA: Spellwaver's vs Illithids!

So are these guys older than the Illithid Empire? Wonder how the two would interact.

I wonder if one of these could be used as a warlock pact patron.

What are the Leshay's feelings on the spellweavers?

it would be cool that it was the Mindflayers that cause the Collapse of the spell weavers civilianization making the Mindflayer think magic is weak. The Spell Weavers can't be Ceremorphed but their brains can feed a Mindflayer for years.

Makes me think of a formian or highly evolved spiders/Insects

Just a thought...Magic Missile is a first level spell. TPK from a low level spell ;>

I’d love to see these up against Aboleths.

solving the problem of spell weavers would mean working with them to use those reversion gems in a new ritual to reflect creation a third time. a branch timeline that gives them what they want without destroying what is.

Spell weavers vs the netheris empire, which one is more advanced?

I'm a little confused are the spellweavers one of the five Creator races mentioned in the old tomes and manuscripts of the Forgotten Realms

Spell Weaver : "Which hand is it in?"

I'm wondering what's happen if a would be lich with Vecna as one of their patrons attempted to uncover knowledge on the spellweavers.

Do you think with a lvl 13 monk, using tongue of the sun and moon could communicate with spell weavers should they click and whistle?

So, somewhere during the Dawn War?

I get a really strong Doctor Who vibe here:)

But why the one at 6:00 has 7 hands ? Maybe it's two Spellweavers one on top of the other under that tunic

5:50 hang on, that's 7 arms!

Natural diamonds typically form octahedral crystals with a cubic crystal cell lattice though...

A 2e guide to PC Spell Weavers: PC Spell Weaver characters must have a minimum 17 Int, 14 Con & Dex. They gain progress in levels, gain HP, Save and have the THAC0 of a Mage. Spell Weaver Characters gain 1 spell/level and must progress 3 levels before they can learn the next level of spells. The 1st spell they learn in each spell level must be an offensive spell, the 2nd must be a defensive spell and the 3rd must be a utilitarian spell. Example: A 3rd level PC Spell Weaver will know 3-1st lv spells, 1 offensive, 1 defensive and 1 utilitarian. A 6th lv PC Spell Weaver would know 3-1st lv & 3-2nd lv spells, 2 offensive, 2 defensive and 2 utilitarian. An 18th lv PC Spell Weaver would know 3-1st lv, 3-2nd lv, 3-3rd lv, 3-4th lv, 3-5th lv and 3-6th lv spells, 6 offensive spells, 6 defensive spells and 6 utilitarian spells. PC Spell Weavers CANNOT cast the same spell more than once in a round, they must weave their spells into interesting combinations instead. They do this by selecting good combinations of spells from their huge collections of spell books. PC Spell Weavers CANNOT learn spells above 6th lv. PC Spell Weavers DO NOT get any magic resistance. PC Spell Weavers CANNOT use multiple weapons or magic items, because the limited design of humaniod weapons/items and their limited understanding of combat does not let them. Instead they use weapons/items the same as humanoids and are limited to 1 wand/staff/rod/item or 1 weapon, unless they learn the 2-weapon style specialization, ambidexterity or have high dexterity. In combat with melee weapons they suffer the same penalties for off-hand weapon use as humanoids, with the penalty increasing for each extra hand the PC Spell Weaver attempts to use. Using multiple bows or slings is also impossible although dual hand crossbows, pistols or thrown weapons are possible. PC Spell Weavers may use their free hands not engaged in melee combat to weave spells. PC Spell Weavers retain their natural armour class. PC Spell Weavers may telepathically communicate with humans but if a human tries to contact a PC Spell Weaver the result is confusion for 1d6 days as the PC Spell Weaver is immune to telepathy. PC Spell Weavers retain their ability to detect magic and invisibility but it takes 1 round of full concentration and only 1 ability is usable at a time. PC Spell Weavers retain the ability to become invisible but it is limited to once per day. Spell Weavers retain their ability to plane shift to an alternate reality home world once a day but they must remain there for 1 day and can only return to the same spot they left. PC Spell Weavers can teach the art of Spell Weaving to Mages and Clerics with and Int of 17 and a Dex of 14. Mages and Clerics may use this ability to cast 2-1st lv spells in 1 round but weaving 2nd lv or higher spells is impossible for non-Spell Weaver characters. An Intelligence check at -6 must be made and if failed, both spells are lost and the spell caster is left confused for the remainder of the round. When PC Spell Weavers reach 18th level their is a 5% chance during any stressful encounter they will spontaneously divide into 6 new 1st lv Spell Weavers. PC Spell Weavers have developed a specialized weapon called a Hexblade to help them when their magic is not enough. This weapon is essentially a 2-hand sword with an extra cross guard forming an X with 4 hand holds on the backs of the cross guards. This allows a PC Spell Weaver to wield the Hexblade with deadly speed. The Hexblade requires 2 hands to wield and for every extra hand used the weapon speed is reduced by 1. The Hexblade can also by wielded in a manner that allows the PC Spell Weaver to move it in mystical passes that channels the PC Spell Weaver's spell points into a magical bonus and speed bonus at a cost of 1 spell point per point of enchantment per round. For each hand used on the Hexblade the PC Spell Weaver can enchant the blade by +1 to hit and damage and increase the rate of attacks by 1/2 rounds. 6-hand use allows the PC Spell Weaver to enchant the Hexblade to +6 and make 3 attacks/round for a cost of 6 spell points/round. Some PC Spell Weavers have forgone spell casting to become Blade Weavers. These Blade Weavers can possess some highly modified Hexblades.

they bodily shape reminds me of the MiB worms

The mind weaver as due to that picture on facebook

Maybe I'm mistaken, but didn't these guys also have a strong presence in Spelljammer, like they had their own unique ships just like the Mind Flayers?

Don't the current spell weavers fear their own erasure by this reset? Or do their memories or themselves still get preserved somehow? Maybe, since they have all the memories of their ancestors, they might see the reset as only forgetting a relatively small part of their memory? After all, you probably wouldn't be too sad if you had a case of amnesia, in which you forgot about everything that happened today. In your entire life (Or in this case, mass of memories) this one day (Or in this case, a few spell weaver generations) is meaningless. That is how I might go on about explaining this, but I'm not really certain.

Would LeShay help spellweavers? Are they even from the same Universe?

Do a ranger monster hunter video one would help kill one of thease spellweavers

Could one use them as an Old One Warlock Patron?

I know I'm a little late but I don't suppose you have 5e stats, even of your own creation?