Dungeons and Dragons: Almiraj

Also a discussion on the Jackalope and other horned hares.
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aj pickett, the mighty gluestick, dungeons and dragons, roleplaying, tabletop, 5E, 5th edition, faerun, toril, forgotten realms, Eberron, pen and paper, Dungeons and dragons lore, monsters, magic, magic items, monster ecology, greyhawk, mystara, krynn, golarion, spelljammer, planescape, homebrew, live stream, Magic the Gathering, Wizards of the Coast, WotC, Ravnica, Ravenloft, Theros, Strixhaven, Fizban, Mordenkainen, Drizzt, cosmology, planescape, spelljammer, lore, stories, outer planes, elemental, artifact, toril, faerun, jackalope, almiraj, horned bunny, rabbit, hare, buck, doe, kit, warren, burrow, nest, fantasy animal, beast, folklore, zakhara, kara tur, lands of fate, southern faerun,

[@tatsusama3192]

I'd have a petting zoo full of these as a side income in a fantasy world🤩❤️

[@zacharyweaver276]

Man some sprites or fairys riding one of these sounds really cute

[@AJPickett]

Until you face them in combat and suddenly understand THE HORROR.

[@davidjarkeld2333]

With a 1 foot horn on its head living underground in tunnels would be difficult, especially turning around.

[@SolStains]

Maybe they are good at travelling backwards? But good point!

[@bayoubilly5176]

As a bio nut. The compendiums are 90% things that would be extinct in months heh.

[@rwillis3054]

Literally just got this as a familiar for my cleric. Tonight and then this video happens.

[@esperthebard]

Hey look at that funky thing!

[@VerityAmul]

Oh i am so happy right now. Thanks again AJ

[@thehillz726]

I imagine the teleporting variety would be in the nastier areas of the feywild..

[@Puddingskin01]

"Go ahead hop on, that's a great one to ride, well trained." One Sprite to an gullible Fairy.

[@That80sGuy1972]

Wow... blast from the past. I only used these in the 90s and in one mission (my homebrew 2nd Ed). Their burrowing ability and being nimble with a horn in front of them, huge relative to their size, I homebrewed them a bit to make them make sense. I made their burrowing just them running into the ground, their horn does a form of Move Earth and burrows for them. The 2nd Ed build for them was best, they were rabbit unicorns. There were lesser versions, cosmetically identical because they bred with rabbits. Those would probably qualify as what 3rd Ed and after put out. The only mission I ever used them on: "What's Up Doc? The Bunnies that Bug the Farmers." It was a mid-level mission painted as "easy money". I ran them relative to their stat intelligence, so a bit brighter than a Cortivae type avian in rabbit unicorn form. They thought the mission was a comedy one because of the name so they tried to kill the comedy by being serious and who they thought the bad guy possibly was, but it turned out to be really funny because of that and even funnier when they learned it was horned magical rabbits. Once they figured out who the pests were, they made progress. It wasn't a Conjurer summoning beasties, it wasn't a Druid making trouble, it wasn't the rogue Atomies breaking their word, it wasn't the displaced refugee Brownies raiding for food, it was an "infestation" of Almirajs. "Wait? Infestation of WHAT?" You are imagining how it went now, aren't you? Chances are, you are correctly imagining how a lot of the encounters went... including how they "Bugs Bunny" out of danger by just diving into the ground... without the long broken earth trail.

[@andresmarrero8666]

That's a good sidequest. The best I could come up with is a fae wizard with a environmental simulation demiplane inside his house. The guy was researching how creatures change and adapt over time in response to environmental factors. Some interesting creatures were produced.

[@That80sGuy1972]

@@andresmarrero8666 So, a fae wizard with a real (and not simulated) version of Sim Life in his house? That sounds epic! I had time-displaced demiplanes all throughout all my campaigns, but not created by a wizard for such products.

[@andresmarrero8666]

@@That80sGuy1972 Glad you liked it! The fae wizard is effectively researching evolution and uses almiraj and jackalopes as the base creature so his house is full of them and a demiplane happens to be safest way to study his subject. All things considered he is quite benign.

[@tristansylvester1079]

The one change I'd make to them is give them muscular retractable necks. Normally keeping it close to the body, giving them the appearance of normal bunnies ish with horns, but when they run into their burrows they're able to extend their necks up and down, allowing them to thrust in the tight corridor. I also like the blink ability, and would probably explain it as them just leaping forward at incredible speeds through short distances, possibly having specialized muscles specifically for this but they tire or even snap quickly meaning the rabbit thing has to wait for a "cool down" before they can do it again.

[@SolStains]

Cool! I like it❤ The muscle-blink-thing

[@andresmarrero8666]

So they are more like turtles?

[@tristansylvester1079]

@@andresmarrero8666 aside from the hard shell, claws, scales, and any reptilian feature yes! 😂

[@thewavygravy6420]

first time I've heard of these guys. I can picture a rogue band of Elven Bandits riding these guys to sack a village.

[@mikewaterfield3599]

Just fried a bird, great serenade for dinner! These things make me think monte python.

[@AJPickett]

Great nasty nashing teeth!

[@mikewaterfield3599]

@@AJPickett have to remind the PCs to pack a blessed potion if explosions.

[@ashb8036]

Woohoo! New AJ video!

[@ashb8036]

Hmm, bunny related….jackalope…. Or may fav vorpal bunny! (Yeah I’ve brought it up before)

[@spoon1710]

i feel like some spell or potion requires their horn

[@almitrahopkins1873]

I love these little buggers. They’re always a fun encounter for adventurers who forget to bring rations. I used to hunt rabbit in Oklahoma using a spear. I can tell you that jackalopes are not mythological creatures. I watched a jackrabbit bound over a six foot tall barbed wire fence without breaking a sweat. I have scars because I couldn’t stop in time. These make for a terrific wilderness encounter.

[@tomkerruish2982]

The unibunny!

[@yuranashi]

The Sphere of annihilation is a good topic

[@AngelusAnsell]

I would honestly, die for you to go back and finish/remaster the character class videos.

[@kmg9763]

Great content. I'd love to hear more about Alchemy in DND. Which monster parts can be used. Like how healing potions made with troll blood can give a character warts.

[@AJPickett]

Mmm true, there must be hundreds of different recipes for healing potions, so much potential there for some unexpected side effects and variable costs.

[@mattnerdy7236]

@@AJPickett side affects my included itching, scratching and hornyness!

[@SamaelHellscrem]

Ahhh the Unicorn Rabbits :D When I saw them the first time i thought they were born from a Idea fueld with either to much alkohol or to much weed :D That might still be the case but at least it wasn't a Developer from Wizards of the Coast but the Al-Mi'raj is actualy part of Islamic folklore. They were gifted to Iskandar (Alexander the Great) after he defeated the Dragon of Dragon island who ate the livestock of the people living on the island.

[@andresmarrero8666]

You know I can see a benign fae wizard having the interior of their house be an environment and evolution simulation plane and it is filled with Almiraj and jackalopes. The wizard is studying how creatures change and adapt over time in response to various conditions and factors. Ever seen an almiraj descendant crocohorse like creature? They make for excellent mounts particularly in swamps and marshes though they do like their afternoon naps. I would also imagine that there would be almiraj hybrids in Chult.

[@redfaux74]

I would load these up with druid powers out the wing-wang and make them forest champions. Greatest Ranger familiar ever. Vorpal horn? Oh yeah!

[@purplehaze2358]

Fun fact, the almiraj is actually based on a creature from Arabic folklore.

[@AJPickett]

Sure is

[@MrNetWraith]

Ironically, the 2e Al'miraj is closer to the actual myth, where it is actually such a vicious predator that all animals flee from it on sight, because it can consume much larger creatures in its hunger.

[@chazzwozzio]

Run away! Run away!

[@victorvaldez8869]

Kind or surprised that no photographs of stuffed Jackalopes made it into the artwork you ended up using. Apparently they are a common "Gaff" AKA fake animals created by taxidermists. So if you want to own a stuffed Jackalope you can too. Taking inspiration from the Stuffed Jackalopes a restaurant in Denver Colorado called "Biker Jim's Gourmet Hot Dogs" sells ""Jackalope Sausages," which are a combination of Spicy Jalapeno, Deer & Rabbit Meat. Something to try if you ever come out to the Rocky Mountains, & certainly less individuating than the euphemistic dish called "Rocky Mountain Oysters, which actually are the thin line between a Bull & a Steer.

[@markusnavergard2387]

in dragon quest we call those Bunnycorns

[@masonabbey6353]

The myths 1st read if these painted them as violent carnivores similar to the Beast from Monty Python, said only a witch could calm one down to kill it - ant its horn was black and sharp.

[@DCJMS]

now which wizard is gonna go & make a Wolpertinger?

[@AliToZiom]

General video about all the Torill known countries sounds interesting

[@Emil-Tiger02]

Yay!

[@daniell1483]

Oh, I love the idea of a sort of Almiraj Show, like our own Dog Shows. I'm imagining trainers running their pet Almiraj through a series of tracks to show off their impressive dexterity and beauty.

[@AJPickett]

but add frivolous use of magic.

[@HBHaga]

A charging Almiraj herd was one of my few low-level party wipes. Darned thief thought they were Carbuncles.

[@marclytle644]

From the thumbnail I thought this was gonna be about the bird. Now I see that is not a giant bird, but a regular one. Well played Sir. I adjust my monocle and tip my top hat to you. Good day Sir. Good day!

[@braith6533]

Love these videos on the smaller cute animals. Would love to see more on creatures like this. Dragons are badass but lil animals like this are a great why to enrich a game with little impact

[@tombom6643]

6:15-6:25 art makes me think someone could make an intresting world/game on it. Kinda shocked i havent seen a game like that.

[@Comicnut64]

Awesome a lore vid after a long day

[@blackgriffinxx]

jackalope + Almiraj + wizard with a love of rabbits and in need for a guard(s) = ovismer (ram hare) Big horn sheep horns on a snowshoe hare the size of a median dog. With a nasty temper towards strangers . That live in herds of 8 or more Will wag "tail" and stomp before ramming you. once one ram you. All will target you till you stop moving and making sounds. When trained. It will be a good guard and lawn keeper. Note some have been know to grow beyond the norm to the size of donkey and taking on the temper of one. PC: look it a field of rabbits DM :Roll All got below 7 DM : It cute normal Rabbits with horns PC :I want to pet it DM: make saving throws

[@youthinasia4103]

Just bout to eat a pot pie n listen to this! Thanks AJ!

[@venkelos6996]

Cute! I'm totally going to admit that basically all of my exposure to this beast is Tomb of Annihilation, and I don't recall them there being much more than "regular bunnies with a horn" sized; I'll have to go back and look, because I wasn't aware they were like giant space hamsters, and also came in sizes large enough to be ridden. Of what I remember of them, I am fond of them. I always like additional fun animal options for familiars, and occasionally beast-shapes for Druids. These won't surpass the Treesym as my favorite "mundane" familiar option, but I sometimes make characters who aren't of a theme to want a winged cat, and an alicorn-sporting hare is another neat option.

[@moonman169]

Gibberlings and their broodmothers

[@AJPickett]

excellent.

[@lysander9957]

Thats a neat idea for a fun activity, a magical "dog" show. Players have fun looking at all the exotic animals like Almiraj, Pseudodragons, Blink Dogs, and what have you. And then some noble rocks up with his pet Gray Render and all hell breaks loose when it decides to have a "taste" of the competition.

[@aubreyackermann8432]

I love it!

[@ShoLombard27]

I would love to see father llymic from elder evils get a video

[@malcolmt7883]

Hmm... looks like we need one more monster to fill out this page. Hows about we stick a horn on a rabbit?

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

Wait, the jackalope exists in D&D? 🤯

[@garryame4008]

I love the encounter idea at the end!

[@chadlynch1551]

In 2nd ed, I would give them a boost to their teleport ability and use them to populate asteroid belts in the Spelljamming setting. One of the problems I had with the setting was that there wasn't really anything at the bottom of the food chain out in space. All those other monsters out there needed something to feed on, after all. (I know, I'm just kind of a stickler for that sort of thing).

[@AJPickett]

I feel the same

[@frankiecastelo9257]

Yay! The most important lore! :)

[@plynnmiller7563]

5 comments, 14th to like, and sipping on a tasty beverage for some sweet sweet LORE!

[@marcogenovesi8570]

ah yes, the murder wabbits

[@Doughy_in_the_Middle]

My campaign used the Frog God Games book "Quest of Doom 3" adventure "Child's Play" where in it is an al'miraj. Thanks to some excessively good animal handling rolls as well as a deft casting of speak with animals, the ranger befriended -- not tamed -- the beast. "What's your name?" Realizing he only has an INT of 2, he just wide-eyed stared at them and blinked. They reassured him they meant him no harm, and eventually answered, "Puffball." He's among the handful of recurring NPCs that I've introduced to the party whom they have an affinity to and would probably defend if it were threatened.

[@blackgriffinxx]

I like monster like this. They are the favor of the world. That make it seem more alive when you drop them in. you don't have to fight them or do any thing to them. They are just their. The DM tell their little story can act as a little mental break. That can help set the mood for better or worst .

[@ryanmatthews5882]

Is there any lore as to the origins of the Astral Dreadnought?

[@christopherpugnetti5827]

AJ has a really amazing video on this. Check out his channel and search for it! You'll not be disappointed.

[@AJPickett]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bICkdmWAediDl68

[@ryanmatthews5882]

Watched that...thanks, that was awesome!

[@caseystraughan7530]

I would like to hear about the devils that ruled the 9 hells before Asmodeus took over.

[@AJPickett]

Sure :)

[@caseystraughan7530]

@@AJPickett Sweet! For a few years now I have watched and re watched your monster ecology videos when winding down for bed. Some of them many dozen times. Something about the cadence of your voice and the content of entire worlds of law/chaos good/evil really let me relax and get to sleep. Much better than Netflix. Thank you.

[@trajanfidelis1532]

related to the jackalope in anyway?

[@AJPickett]

probably, they favor different terrain so it would be a natural evolutionary split.

[@nicolaezenoaga9756]

,,Is the big, unicorn horned, fairy descended rabbit born on the fully palpable world and who drinks, live's and can give birth to more of it's kin a real rabbit who's big and who has a horn, or is it a imaginariy being born of ower dreams and imagination and breathe life into by ower act's of sharing and retailing the storys to the point that the dream started interacting with the real? Is the real becoming a dream or is it the dream becoming the real?'' - Amelia Aurora Harrymounten Codru Myska, philosopher | species: Lupin

[@theropen1997]

Oh its great to find another creature from Middle Eastern folklore in fantasy media besides Jinn. First described by Al-Qazwin, it lived on a fictional island in the Indian ocean called Jazirat-al-Tinnin, named after how a dragon once terrorized it until Alexander the Great came to slay it. The locals gave him a Mi'raj as a gift for slaying the dragon, which although just a yellow rabbit with a long black horn is so aggressive that other animals flee from the sight of it. It's most likely inspired by the horn-like growths caused by papillomaviruses in rabbits, with the aggressiveness based on confusion with a unicorn-like creature of Persian folklore called the Karkadann.

[@AJPickett]

Yep

[@DungeonDad]

Unicorn bunnies! These guys are wild. Great video dude!

[@UriahNeveah]

Hmm, I thought the Jackalope came from the plane of Wyoming.

[@nohface4544]

I desperately want a video on the Gray Wastes. Great video though, I can't complain about more lore videos

[@opwith6608]

My friend AJ! I was wondering if you could do some deep dives into the elemental planes! I have been reading planescape and they fascinate me the most! Get the major, quasi and para if you can! They have lots of good lore and I want to hear the grand LOREMASTER get me the secrets! Always a great job my friend!

[@charleshartung9388]

I so want a BLINK BUNNY

[@TraciPeteyforlife]

Blink Bunny should have stayed.

[@That80sGuy1972]

If you are the DM, it does if you say so.

[@TheEvilProfessorMonoCulture]

My favorite monster, I never leave the cottage without one; you never know if something will try and eat you, I'm sure the Almiraj has similar thoughts.

[@mattnerdy7236]

Hey AJ, great video and topic. Loved the set up at the end of the video. You asked for more creatures like this one, I do have a couple. Both these creatures are very rare and infamous! First the elusive and mysterious Snipe and Second every Warlocks dream the Exploding Toad! Thanks AJ you have a wonderful day!

[@kingmasterlord]

10:30 this thing would be the size of an IRL hamster. if one inch is 5 feet that makes us titans. I'm 365 ft tall #CatDragons #KaijuKitties

[@96kidbuu]

Any word on the fallen Kingdom of Uthtower? I'd love a video on that, Iniarv, and the Mere of Dead Men in general!

[@skippy9273]

A hell yeah I love these guys. I was waiting for some indepth discussion on these guys

[@dboot8886]

Okay, just going to say, outside of an old GBC game called Dragon Warrior Monsters, I have legit never heard of this before. Like I thought they just made it up for the game. Cool!

[@tristanchristiansen9054]

Kind of like a jackalope

[@aviongris4233]

Aj I hope you don't mind me asking for advice again, but I've again run into bit of a problem. I am a player character this time around(a paladin) and I am in need of some money to help pay off a kidnapper to return a party member. I was thinking of using lay on hands as a way to get money through healing and disease curing, but I don't know what an appropriate price to charge people is. I figure that it should be less that the market price of a potion, but I don't know by how much(healing people for 10hp or 1 disease per person.).

[@AJPickett]

Roleplay that situation, including the laying on of hands to NPCs for money, this is a perfect opportunity for the DM to throw you a side quest and tons of valuable NPC contacts.

[@aviongris4233]

@@AJPickett Will do. Thank you.

[@ETBass-zx3mw]

Great video. With all the humanoid variations, are there any rabit humanoid societies. And if so, what would keep them from over populating and conquering everywhere? Thanks AJ.

[@Cyberpuppy63]

I would examine: Disease. Hunting by Human and demi-humans. Dogs. Fungus. Drugs. Poisoned water. Intra-species rabbit wars. No over-population and Conquering, there.

[@SolStains]

I think I might be falling in love...😍

[@scottleneau6221]

If Voldemort drank the blood of one of those things, would he have transformed into a chibi version of himself?

[@AJPickett]

I hope so

[@zacharyweaver276]

Oh boy another new monster

[@SolStains]

Great art in this one btw😄

[@adamwelch4336]

Time to make a army of fairies riding into battle on horned bunny's!

[@AJPickett]

( *tiny battle cries* ) "RUN!"

[@chandlernapier8341]

I love the videos you make when you tell stories. I was thinking about how cool it would be if you told a story where we voted on the outcome kinda like a choose your adventure type story .lol I wish that could be possible

[@MrJamesbondo07]

how does a horned creature live in a burrow?

[@AJPickett]

How do termites live in arcology super fortresses with highways, farms and air conditioning? Nature finds a way man, anyway, did you note that the females gave their litters outside of the burrow? So perhaps they just retreat into the burrow when they need to sleep, but spend most of the time outside of it?

[@guuspot923]

Ahh, fresh stick of glue first thing in the morning. Breakfast is served!

[@mattman8436]

That was neat!

[@Klancer2]

I have been wanting this video for a while now. Love these cute little guys.

[@mmardh799]

thank you!

[@aliceofspades]

Yay! Thank you for covering D&D's best bunny creature!

[@nicolaezenoaga9756]

Thanks.

[@firesuppressionequipment]

Obscure creature and a cute one great job aj

[@logannichols5848]

The pathfinder version turns people gored with the horn to stone.

[@theblocksays]

Yeah iirc they're also favored as a witch's familiar. Surprised they didn't make a Misfit Monsters Redeemed vol 2 book with those featured.

[@ruhalajn]

I've waited 2 days to watch this because where I was for those days is so awful that I don't have the heart to bring good things there.

[@AJPickett]

Yikes, hope you are ok man.

[@ruhalajn]

@@AJPickett oh yeah I'm fine. It's just where I work: anything good or that promotes freedom sets off alarms and is immediately attacked by the denizens of the plane.

[@AJPickett]

@@ruhalajn Then leave that shithole and find a better place to sell the very limited hours of your life, honestly, what is your life worth? Far more than any employer is willing to pay, so you owe them NOTHING, always look for the better offer, never get into a rut, there are always opportunities.. use the stability of a job only as a base from which to launch your next step up the ladder and NEVER settle for second best... you owe it to yourself, and at the end of your days, when you look back... who gives a fuck about jobs anyway? I've left shitty jobs with nowhere else to go before because I would rather starve than work for assholes, and now, I work for my viewers, and they are awesome!

[@ruhalajn]

@@AJPickett Man, those are my sentiments exactly, but you know how people can be. Working on going elsewhere, but taking flack for it. Thanks buddy, needed to hear that from someone sane.

[@Mr_Maiq_The_Liar]

Is it "a safe bet" to eat anything in a feywilde city? What is a feywilde city like?

[@AJPickett]

They are all different

[@almitrahopkins1873]

Don’t eat in the feywild. Just ask the leader of the wild hunt about the dangers.

[@alexandrosp.2035]

Hi, how are you doing AJ ? Any chance your ship might bring you to the waters of the beautiful, graphic and slightly evil nation of Cheliax from Pathfinder ?

[@marcogenovesi8570]

demons are people too

[@AJPickett]

Probably not.

[@bluebird3281]

@@AJPickett How's 'bout a video on the major villains and/or monsters of Dark Sun?

[@alexandrosp.2035]

@@AJPickett Are you sure ? I hear the welcoming commitee there is very warm, they throw one hell of a party 😆.

[@alexandrosp.2035]

@@marcogenovesi8570 Hi Marco, do you mean devils ? Because, SPOILER ALERT, they are the ones runing Cheliax.

[@AnonymousAlcoholic772]

One or two small steps my friend..one or two small steps from accepting “furry” as a character class.

[@AJPickett]

Harengone... its here already

[@zenvariety9383]

There’s already several anthropomorphic races.

[@shawnhowe7311]

Nice addition BleuRiffic Horn able to be daggers?

[@AJPickett]

Sure. But it won't last long.

[@shawnhowe7311]

@@AJPickett it can do 10 to 20 points damage then cracks?

[@chriscalvin5083]

Good video AJ

[@That80sGuy1972]

Agreed. At this point, it almost goes without saying. He crosses all the way back to entries to the original source and walks us to the current to add a lot of clarity for the most part.

[@themightymoose5047]

Great video as always AJ! Are you planning on continuing your series on the elves sometime?

[@AJPickett]

Yes I am! Next up is the Crown Wars, that requires a bit of research

[@themightymoose5047]

@@AJPickett sweet!! If I may ask, is that when all the different types of elves started branching off? (Eladrin, high elves, etc)

[@floppa2154]

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

[@johngleeman8347]

No magical abilities? Such a shame. XD

[@monsieurdorgat6864]

Question: is it a beast, monstrosity, or fey?

[@AJPickett]

Beast.

[@monsieurdorgat6864]

@@AJPickett Sweet! I guess it's not too powerful to worry about druids transforming into it!

[@itzybitzyspyder]

Bunnycorn ftw!

[@g3heathen209]

Did these guys come from dragon quest or is it the other way around?

[@AJPickett]

other way around, they are mythological creatures for real.

[@prestongarner8796]

AJ going to talk about shadow mastiffs.

[@AJPickett]

Possibly