Because of the sponsor, I couldn't really change the video description (my bad lol) so here's the poll everyone gets to vote on this one: strawpoll.com/polls/BDyNj49R7yR
I think an interesting thing for a DM to treat something that might be locked away on the dinosaur-guarded plateau is to look to natural disasters: the part of nature that causes the animals themselves to flee in fear. So the power to create earthquakes could reside in the plateau, and the power to create hurricane-grade storms could be a secret inside Stormhold.
@@snekkoheckko4466 Yes, but in Native American Animism, which those Animal Lords were originally based on, Wolf and Dog are not the same. One represents ferocity and the other loyalty.
Animals reincarnate? Now I want to play a long lived character with a beast companion, who finds them again and again. it'll be an epic tale of love an loyalty!
The reason animals reincarnate is because the beastlands was originally called the Happy Hunting Grounds. Native American Animism says that things like dogs never abandon its human after establishing its bond of loyalty. You only have one dog, but it has many bodies over your lifetime.
@@yur0nf1r3 Native American Animism is full of things like that. All of the greater Manitou gave gifts to mankind after Coyote tricked the First into asking the question that split him into two, making him two animals with no greater spirit to guide them.
My headcanon is that the Forbidden Plateau is the resting place for animals who's species have gone extinct over time. Like some kind of divinely created wildlife preservation.
Forever ago, I ran a campaign on this plane, and that's exactly what I did. Made the area far, far larger, and it was all the exinct animals. It even had an ocean, filled to the brim with creatures. I homebrewed that there was an adjacent god to death, the god of extinction, and this was their realm. The irony, is that nothing stayed dead here. The party TPK'd an average of every 2nd session. The goal was to find out why they were there, and how to get back home.
For what world? In that case all animals can be there. If tigers go extinct on a world, would they go there? Some worlds dinosaurs are very common like on Eberron. I think the plateau is much more than that. Either a primordial being off dinosaurs lives there (such as Ubtao) or someone besides him.
@@razzelmire2008 for me, that was the interesting bit. I based it off of the real world. My justification was that there is a crystal sphere for Earth, and stolen humans from here in the Forgotten Realms. Sadly, the campaign collapsed, but at the end, they would have learned they were from Earth, and the divine Providence of the plane made them forget. Each of them had been zookeepers, or park rangers or such. Back in the 90s, it felt like an original idea. Certainly less so nowadays.
@@christophermzdenek Our earth being a crystal sphere is officially canon. In fact, Elminster himself makes regular visits to our world to have conversations with the creators of D&D. It also explains how gods from real world pantheons found themselves transported into the D&D settings. Of course, this also means that it is canonically possible to have an 'isekai' series set in D&D.
I had lost my cat a couple of days ago too, and I think this would be an amazing place for her to know as her place of fun and freedom. Of course, I wonder if it is possible for an owner of a cat would be able to be with their companion in the afterlife as well.
@@sharlharmakhis280 I know that the lore had stated that the animals regress into a more feral state when they enter the plane, but I like to think that even then the connection of a loving owner and their cherished companion should still remain. And if you add that the owner in turn gets to turn into an animal as well, I just see the afterlife for the two to be nothing more than them frolicking and playing in the beautiful forests of the Beastlands. Complete equals. And that just sounds perfect in my eyes, I would love to join my dearest girl in the afterlife as a cat, and just be able to bask in the sunlight alongside of her.
it never ceases to amaze me how in-depth and well-thought out the upper planes of planescape continue to be. the beastlands in particular seem like a genuinely fun place to visit or heck even run a monster hunter-like campaign in. the mordhai provide a fantastical interpretation of clouds and the air in general, the forbidden plateau is a mystery left open to interpretation by the DM that can be explored by the players, and Stronmaus gives players a destination for safe haven and an opportunity to meet with a power (something I think is cool for players to do). Thanks for doing this series, Rhexx, and I hope your cat gets better.
5e definitely handles its multiverse and planar settings with less passion and care than 2e did, the most I expect if anything is a Manual of the Planes that goes more in-depth regarding the individual layers of the planes while only going really in-depth with the 'popular' planes. I used to bash 5e in the comments of these plane videos but I decided to stop because I felt it was getting repetitive, but criticisms are definitely warranted.
Imagine an Oath of the Ancients Paladin (Forest Paladin) having the heartfelt desire to pet at least one of every creature in the Beastlands. This unfortunately gets him killed a lot as a petitioner, but his God (or multiple gods) just can't help but enjoy watching him so they just keep bringing him back.
No, they yiff in Baphomet's layer of the Abyss. This is a heaven for animals and people they vouch for, not for the reason Megan's Law needs to be extended to pet stores.
The first layer Krigala sparked a memory for me. I don't know how many people remember the game Warriors of the Eternal Sun, a 2nd edition D&D computer game but basically our peoples castle gets transported to a heavily forested land inhabited greatly by beasts and beastmen where the sun never ever sets. I never heard it confirmed in the lore of that game but now I am thinking it definitely was supposed to be set here. Crazy after so many years to see such a strong connection to such an old game.
The beastlands were originally neutral. It was the Happy Hunting Grounds before the scrubbing of real-world deities and pantheons from AD&D. You can tell by Father Bear, who is Grandfather Bear in Native American Animism.
5 or so years ago, I bought the PHB for dnd 5e. I saw near the very back, a brief list of extra-planar locations in a great wheel. The Beastlands caught my eye immediately, but I never actually looked up what it was, because it seemed kinda obvious, and it was always a "I'll look it up eventually" section of lore in my head. Thank you so much for making this video, and showing such an incredible place to experience. This is, by far, the most perfect place I've ever heard of in all the realms of fantasy.
Me: Knowing how some "lovable" animals behave. "Wow...there's a lot of animals not be going to heaven ", including but not limited to; ducks, dolphins, seals, penguins, otters, and hippos...
Ok ok. What about Animals that got Awakened on the Material? Do they still reincarnate? Do they loose their personhood when they die? Do they come to the plane as petitioners or animals? What if an Awakened animal began worshipping a God, or sold their soul to a Devil? How does that effect their relationship to the beast lands?
These questions really aren't answered. I'd effectively treat them as people at that point. It's worth noting, though that an awakened animal is still an animal, with the same instincts. They're just also intelligent.
Every being lose their memories when they die, so it doesn't really matter if an animal was sentient or not, they go here by default. If they worship a deity or make pact with a devil, than they end up as anyone else who did the same.
I don't know what the actual case is (or if it was ever even explored in any official material) but I would argue that an Awakened animal is for all intents and purposes an intelligent, sapient creature, and is therefore "judged" as a humanoid would be. An Awakened animal is smart enough to understand morality. As for losing their personhood, whether a person keeps their memories and/or personality in the afterlife is kind of ambivalent and dependent on circumstance in D&D.
@@almitrahopkins1873 I think one of my favorite forgotten realms books was the old 2e Demihuman deities along with alot of the planescape supplements. Lots of good in-depth info.
I love these breakdowns. Any compliments I get while DMing, I 100% attribute to your breakdowns. You put decades worth of lore and history into a nice neat and entertaining video that I can pick and borrow from. Thank you!
Gods: Okay the Beastlands are going to be in the Good planes because predation is natural. Mind Flayers and Vampires: Okay can we go to the Upper Planes? Gods: No, we hate you.
Well Vampires are undead which is inherently evil, and whilst eating brains might not be inherently evil, although eating of aware creatures is commonly considered evil, they also enslave other species which is evil
@@Gabe600 Yeah, and Mind Flayers are aberrations, literally the most unnatural you can get. They are from the far realm (think Cthulhu and Lovecraft as a plane of existence).
Shameful is what it is. Every other edition has had a version of the Manual of the Planes and 2e straight-up had a whole setting devoted to that stuff. 5e has a short chapter in the DMG. Arborea, for example has 1 paragraph and that's yoinked basically word for word from the introduction of the Arborea section of the Planescape Planes of Chaos guide. In fairness, that plane's main inhabitants were retconned out of existence because Wizards needed a name for their admittedly cool season-based fey.
Brux is my favorite layer for just that reason. I'm doing a 5e Planescape campaign and that's the second place I sent the PC's. They were hunting down an unnatural creature related to one of their backstories. One of them tried to pick a fight with the Cat Lord and almost got them all killed. For the record, the first place I sent them to was the Abyss. I had to show 'em who's boss somehow.
20:31, father bear, i like that name . also that make me think, could this place be some heaven for Druids who doesn't have some gods, but venerate some concept such as nature, wildness, animals, plants, etc, i don't really know how it work in 5 edition, just remembering that in 3.5 druids could choose to not have gods such as obad-Haï and Ehlonna but worship those concept .
@@bkane573I don't need to hear this cat slander just because you don't get along with animals. Anybody who talks shit about cats shows they are not good at bonding with anything that isn't biologically predisposed to like you even if you treat them badly
A PLACE LIKE THIS EXISTS?! one god in my homebrew world called gudbrand (viking and Guils wars 2 norn inspired) who had a bear, wolf, eagle and lynx pet when he was alive his followers follow the spirits of gudbrand's pets more than gudbrand himself. and if you die as a bear spirit follower (cleric or barbarian) you will go to the beastlands as a bear.
I do so adore these! They let me remember and reminisce from those glorious days of 2nd edition where so much of my life was spent as a gamer hehehe -- I love my 5E but man, 2nd ED just slammed with its art and lore!
Agreed. I play 5e because I love the gameplay, but I cherry pick everything else I love from other editions. I've converted so many creatures from 2e and 3e and I use almost no 5e lore.
31:40 So...any animal companion will bail on you regardless of the situation? They don't retain any sort of loyalty they might have developed? Or is it more of a situation like they're overwhelmed by the wildness of the plane and just sprint off and can't even control themselves? Obviously he mentioned they come back when it's time to leave, so I guess there's something there
So it's a heaven full of the goodest bois? Yup, *YUP!* Fuck Elysium, fuck literally spending every day sitting in the lap of the DnD Godess of Thighs, I am going to animal heaven, becoming a deva, and claiming the Pantheon of 'Headpats', and I'm doing nothing but that forever for every goodboi.
The Beastlands would be the perfect setting for a wholesome "My pet died too early :( and now we risk life and limb to bring him back for cuddles!" type adventure, and now I have all I need to make it a reality. Fantastic work, MrRhexx, as always. Your videos have absolutely legendary commentary.
A heaven for animals? Sounds like an interesting concept. I never really thought about what happens to animal souls when they die. I would’ve thought they’d get reincarnated as new animals.
In most cultures (especially Buddhism) that's typically what happens but in others like Judaism/Christianity there was a belief that they could go to Eden, though I think that part has died down.
@@humanity600 that would make sense in the same way that the souls of children go straight to heaven; neither of them have the moral agency to be considered evil.
@@DannyDog27 you're not wrong, however there are people who have considered such a state truly "pure"; that is, to be beyond good and evil, and thus the most eligible to go to heaven. PS: I'm not disagreeing with you, it's just an interesting concept to think about.
MrRhexx, with the natural change that planar travelers undergo when traveling to/through the Beastlands, would it have any unique interactions with some races like the Yuan-ti, given their unique nature as human-snake hybrids; or the tabaxi, with how they are felines with a humanoid form? It might not but Its just a thought that came to me when you talked about that. Cool video though, love all the detailed info you give about the varying planes and their inhabitants.
That sort of thing wasn't as common in 2e, so in my DM judgment I'd say their natural animalistic features and instincts would be more pronounced. That plane calls to the wild part of every living thing, I'd say it would be stronger if you were already part animal.
Yeah and demonic stuff like minotaurs. I wonder how they would change in the beastlands. In fact many demonic places in the abyss also seem to be full of life, like the swamp of juiblex and zuggtmoy
I would, as a DM, rule that the Tabaxi would feel a mild compulsion to walk on all fours, and to give into that would cause them to transform gradually into some form of feline the longer they allow that instinct to Rule As for Yuan’ti, their serpentine features would become rapidly more pronounced (esp since Yuan’ti seem to tend toward chaos) until they would progress to an End-Stage Yuan’ti Anathema. Then, they may begin to shrink and diminish in form until they resemble a particularly large serpent This would only be if the players were to give in to their ‘nature’
We had a high level adventure and I chose the Beastlands to be the second home for my Druid of The Moon I'm so glad to hear more about that plane that I fell in love as soon as I heard about
This makes me feel like I really wish I could go there, more than any other plane so far. If flight is not possible, what about naturally flying creatures like birds, bats and certain insects?
Your videos are already really nice to watch, I really like the way you narrate the lore and the rich lore itself just feels so engaging to me… But this video right here is special for me today. I had the displeasure to find my cat's corpse on our front yard, likely killed by a dog. My day was fine until I had to bury him. I just hope he actually gets to experience heaven…
Talk about timing… I had to say goodbye to my best friend of 12 years on Monday. :( He’s in a far better place now. At peace. Maybe he’ll catch that rabbit he dreamed about.
I'm so glad you and other youtubers do these videos on the outerplanes! I am always suprised when I watch these because I am like "How is there not a campaign in this place yet??? oh well, now I will make one".
The Forbidden Plateau was created by Ubtao, the creator and patron god of Chult. He made the realm for his favorite children, dinosaurs, and on occasion will spend time there as a giant tyrannosaurus rex - twice the size of any mortal dinosaur to exist - in order to escape the pesterings of his mortal petitioners. It's also "home" to the dwarven god Thard Harr, Lord of the Deep Jungle and protector of the wild dwarves. He is Ubtao's only ally, and Ubtao was given exclusive domain over the humans of Chult by the Faerunian pantheon. They made an agreement which tasked him with guarding the Peaks of Flame, where Dendar the Night Serpent was imprisoned, anticipating the day she emerges to destroy Toril - devouring the fears and nightmares of everyone alive and eventually, the sun itself. Much of this is covered in _Powers & Pantheons_ (Eric L. Boyd, 1997; ISBN 978-0786906574).
One thing that gets floated around in Planescape is that the Outer Planes have lives and wills of their own. The Beastlands more so than most, as you might guess. That plane doesn't take kindly to the desecration of nature and the mere presence of such beings would do that. On the other hand, the Planes of Conflict guide also described an angel and devil who fell in love and holed up in a cave there posing as dragons, so it can go either way as you like.
Don't forget that D&D has as many evil gods as it does good ones. Deities are not synonymous with goodness in D&D. The Beastlands are still good-aligned, and full of powerful good-aligned beings, so fiends would definitely be in trouble if their presence there was discovered.
It bugs me so much that we have sll this important and interesting lore about the outerplanes but we don't have much info about them that is updated for 5E. We need a good outerplane book for dnd5e like a huge ass lore book.
One things I'm curious about, what happen of Wild shape or beast flavored spell Does horn grow when you use bull strengh? Have a chance to turn feral when wild shape or feel the instinct of the animal you can turn to when you're in your "human" form as a druid ? If only being there make you feel more alive, that must be overwelming :O
This is actually perfect because I’m running a campaign where are you play as an animal in the humans are taking over so this is giving me so many ideas
Thank You for this video, I just started looking into the brand new one dnd unearthed arcana about Ardlings', and they have been changed around (lore-wise of course) and now they come from these beast lands. I was ecstatic to find this video to learn all about these lands
What about a video about gnomes? I hear they were Fae but rejected their immortality because they tired of it. Afterward each gnome continues to live until they have found no more joy in life. Would love to hear more and have a deeper understanding!
honestly sounds like some irl hunter's wet dream, new stuff to hunt, new things to try, and the universal acceptance that you don't hunt for sport but to survive, even just making sure your shots and hits don't main unintentionally and are always to-kill to avoid suffering.
It looks like the perfect place for high level campaign, as a dm you have way stronger versions of animals, and you can give your players animal features.
I am not going to lie, I thought this would be one of the things id be least interested in. But holy... the Beastlands became singlehandedly my favourite plane in DnD by far. Theyre soooo much more interesting than i thought
7:20 'After a time, the primal changes fade, leaving the characters none the worse - except possibly for some ill-fitting clothes and damaged reputations'. In other words, whilst you may be forced into some 'perspective' of an animal form, you will eventually revert back to your original form. 9:35 Actually, that's not true. The land is in a perpetual 'afternoon' (9:06), not noon/midday. It is not hot, just warm enough for all life to remain comfortable.
I really enjoy when ambiguity is built into the lore with things like the nature of the mortai. Yes, the evidence presented points toward the 3rd answer being the "correct" one, but there's still room left for the players to discover an alternate answer that feeds directly into their game's story. I also feel that there should be some questions that no one knows the answers to in the setting; not even the gods.
Father Bear sounds like Ballu, from Jungle Book. ... The dinosaur plattow must be where the Land of the Lost TV seires takes place? ... The clouds on the plane, are ammalgimations of patitioners who couldn't settle on a single fursona.
Love the video. The Beastlands are one of my favorite places in D&D it's was cool to learn new things I didn't know either. In my world I actually have a person who lives on the plateau with the Dinosaurs and I've tied them to prophecy for players to uncover.
So what about animals that adapted to an urban environment (rats, pigeons, racoon etc.)? Parodoxically their perfect haven would be a city where they have to constantly outsmart huge, clumsy giants to steal their food.
"This place is way more than what you thought it was." Well, i did not think it existed, so already way more. I guess i did not look at every plane on the wheel.
Hey MrRhexx, have you made a Animal Lord Warlock Patron? They are as powerful as celestial and archfiends so they could work. Even I got a rough draft of them, but I'd like to hear yours.
Now that you mention it, that *would* be really cool. The Nature Spirit warlock patron, that grants some druid-like abilities. Also, he might not have one, but please share. I, for one am curious.
@@daviddaugherty2816 I don't have a pdf/ it written down but I do know how it would be laid out and how the abilities work. I would be sort of build it yourself subclass where you get to pick certain abilities at different level, like the totem barbarian. At first level you gain a certain aspect of your patron, mainly towards you movement. Either you gain flight,climbing, swimming, or just and increase to your base walking and a skill bonus. Later on a boost towards one attribute. You can essentially find an animal you want to represent and easily gain abilities that match up with. If you want you animal lord to be ape or a monkey, you would chose climbing for both but chose the strength bonus for the ape and dex bonus for the monkey.
@@daviddaugherty2816 though a druid-like warlock subclass be does sound interesting, but would best work with a tree/plant entity, like a powerful dryad, or an ancient treant
Wow, holy coitus Brux sounds like it would be the perfect heaven for me. I love animals and simple pleasures, the twilight and dawn hours are my favorite times, how could it get any better?
