Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Nether Scrolls

[@justinbaskall8291]

Hey Guys and Gals, We have a challenge going on for the community, check below the timestamps for more info. *Timestamps and Spoilers Below*: 0:08 Intro, Become a Member or a Patron! 0:35 The Two Sets of the Scrolls 2:40 The Foundation of Modern Magic 5:37 The Five Sections: Arcanus Fondare, Magicus Creare, Major Creare, Planus Mechanicus, Ars Factum. 8:21 In Game Effects: Spells and Feats 11:06 How the Elves got them? 12:34 Finder, and the Discovery of the Scrolls 15:18 The Sarrukh Empire's Combined Magical Knowledge 16:20 Possibly in the Hands of the Dark Elves (Pre-Dark Disaster) 18:18 How they Disappeared 18:59 Leaves of Gold, Mintiper Moonsilver, and deciphering the Poem 21:48 The Hamagess and The Golden Leaves Like, Share, Comment, Subscribe, Hit the Bell Icon, Join us in the discord, and tell us how you would use these in your game? I love the idea of there being these repositories of knowledge and magic hidden all over the world, apart of a larger set that changed so much in the world. also that Leaves of Gold story is such a cool concept, a spirit of the forest turning leaves changing colors to actual gold? Im certain there is a plot hook in there. The Challenge: If you liked this video, maybe consider checking out the Empire of Netheril video AJ has (Link Below). It is only part 1/3, but if we can get the video to 14000 views (Currently about 1500 off) by the end of December, AJ has said we will get part 2! Check it out, leave a like to help circulate the video through the KZbin algorithm, and lets get more on this fantastic series. Thank you all, and see you next time. History of Netheril: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4HJZ5lsrpiYedk

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

Justin Baskall Your work is always appreciated. 👍

[@jtb6737]

You have just given me epic ideas for a Wizard in my game that wants knowledge. I am going to give him one of the scrolls and put a curse with it, that he will be given magic if he keeps it a secret of what he is actually reading. The Cursed Scroll will eventually want to find other scrolls and take the party into danger, but he cannot tell the party the scroll knows danger is incoming.

[@docop8926]

As always your effort is much appreciated

[@williamsmith1741]

My abjurer once found a Nether Scroll in a tomb under Luskan. It had a trapped phaerimm in the same sarcophagus. Never before has a smile so quickly turned into a look of terror.

[@AJPickett]

LOL... that is so mean... I like it.

[@tflanagan3511]

Read this, didn't know what a phaerimm was, hit google...you sir are not nice 😂

[@backroomgaming3305]

You keep bringing me more shit than I can figure out how to cramp into my campaing. Please never stop

[@zacharyhawley1693]

The best part of the Nether Scrolls. They are the ultimate prize for those who seek knowledge. No matter how much you know they will always hint at more interacting and building upon the user's knowledge.

[@IvyScrawls]

3:00 "Nether-theless" I see what you did there

[@cameronpearce5943]

Oooo, i didn't know about the Nether Scrolls being possessed by the Dark Elves. Interesting connection. In our game my wizard, who's a Half-Drow, recently collected and red the entire collection.

[@Dsean126]

Time to send my party on the longest fetch quest in history

[@zorkwhouse8125]

That's a really good point about the wizard named spells not being included on the scrolls, thank you for pointing that out.

[@DCdabest]

Turns out that every one of the scrolls was signed off with the initials "D.M." How mysterious.

[@AzraelThanatos]

Something else that could be possible is that there is something else tied into the scrolls, their appearances and disappearances could point towards either all of them being sapient in and of themselves, or something might be sending them out and replacing them.

[@xytek]

I'm elated that you covered these. In my homebrew based on the forgotten realms, my players discovered a set of scrolls, and in doing so, realised some phaerimm!

[@cameronpearce5943]

I had an Archmage who managed to finish reading the Nether Scrolls. They became blank, showing her any information they contained when she wished to recall it, but not showing her anything new. Might have helped that just recently she consumed the intellect of Ioulaum. Big brain wizards be scary

[@sneeringimperialist6667]

Didn't Ioulaum become a lich?

[@cameronpearce5943]

@@sneeringimperialist6667 An Elder Brain Lich

[@cameronpearce5943]

@@sneeringimperialist6667 She was able to reflect his Dominate Monster spell back at him and he failed the save. Her command was to "Show her everything". At this point she had 22 INT and came out of the whole ordeal with 24 INT and short term insanity that our cleric helped cure. Good times, we'd had dealings with him before where he consumed our memories in exchange for secrets, so we were able to restore what he took and that was a touching moment in the campaign. And we became very powerful information brokers, altering the dynamics between a whole bunch of underdark factions and doing what Ioulaum could have been doing, brokering peace and stability. I kinda have it out for Ioulaum in and out of game since he was just stealing brains and abandoned Netharil, leaving Karsus to try and save it with his Avatar spell.

[@ThortheGodly]

I would recommend using the leveling feature of the scrolls for longer paced games where its okay if the party staggers out their levels a little. I personally miss the idea of having everyone level up independently and reward players for getting themselves into the game more by giving them that capacity to work harder at the table for those little advantages. This would work wonderfully in a competitive campaign. (For instance, a gang of unscrupulous pirates, a cutthroat evil mercenary band, and other such things.)

[@AJPickett]

Yeah, it's not like it CAN'T be done, it's just that, in some cases, it works, in others, it doesn't.

[@Licjr]

I’m prepping a campaign that takes place 80 years after Karsus’ Folly so this video was super helpful, thanks AJ!

[@Greenscyth22]

I’d love to see a campaign in which rival Wizard colleges have sent apprentices to seek out one or more of the scrolls in order to gain notoriety over one another.

[@goshohgosh4568]

Im getting a sliver of metal taken out of my eye and this video is going to help me stay calm

[@Saccillia]

Wishing you a speedy recpvery my dude. I know you will do well with this fellows buttery soft calm voice.

[@florenmage]

That sounds really horrible.I hope you will be ok.

[@AJPickett]

Speedy recovery Josh!

[@goshohgosh4568]

Thank you everyone. I should be back to normal in 3 days! I really appreciate the well wishes

[@thehillz726]

"finder" sounds like a job surname to me, like his family's trade was to hunt, scavenge and gather things

[@nullvoid4063]

Another great video AJ!

[@basshunter69ffs]

I have been waiting for this topic for ages, and i didn't even know it... And its 25 minutes long ?! Oh myyy....

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

Barbarian reads Nether scrolls and becomes a magic initiate and ritual caster. Begins casting spells and destroys enemy in a rage. Barbarian reads Nether scroll again for secrets on ascending to godhood and how to rage cast spells while slicing enemies in two.

[@AJPickett]

Traditionally.. back in Ye Olde Dayes, one of the defining traits of the Barbarian, is that they couldn't read.

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

@@AJPickett Agreed, but their are exceptions though. Yet a Barbarian with an int score as high as his/her strength and con score is usually regarded as a military genius. Yet smart Barbarians are probably more terrifying to an enemy than the typical barbarian. A person who strategically rages upon leaping out of a Trojan Horse and invading a stronghold is more dangerous. Yet now I'm imagining a giant kin race similar to Goliaths, except based off Storm giants, doing exactly that against a kingdom ruled by a red dragon. If I could just find time to play D&D someday I would love to be a PC and a DM, very rarely a DMPC though.

[@TheTheode]

Are these the d&d equivalent of pre-Hellenic literature? Maybe a later, more relevant example would be the Dead Sea scrolls.

[@Pointandlaughh]

The third edition adventure modules "Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land", and "Anauroch: The Empire of Shade" involve the most recent use and the fate of the scrolls. Cementing that the Tree thing was, in fact, a set of the scrolls. I enjoyed playing through the adventures at the time. Check them out sometime.

[@zoopdterdoobdter5743]

Did TSR steal this idea from someone? Because, kinda' looks like Bethesda may have lifted a couple of things here and there from D&D...

[@mikepoulos1323]

All that I only do monster vids now talk. And boom! You drop some fire like this. Yeah boi!

[@sblinder1978]

I always interpreted the location of the Nether Scrolls set that Finder..errr..found...to have been a phaerimm lair, and one more reason why they worked to undermine Netheril. Multiple limbs, able to fly or hover as they wish, great mastery of magic...

[@AJPickett]

I considered that, though the Phaerimm, being floating windsocks of evil, don't need furniture. But hey, mine is nothing more than a theory.

[@nullvoid4063]

Wait a minute... a collection of scrolls that contain vast knowledge of the monsters and magics in the forgotten realms and beyond? AJ, where exactly do you get all of the information for your videos?

[@AJPickett]

*kicks secret chest back under the desk*

[@pariswashington5543]

I had an idea of trying to use. The nether scrolls to figure a way to defy mystra's ban i really hate the gods mystra in especially i see them as parasites trying to feed on my devotion holding me back with that accursed ban why should i worship gods when i can become one

[@sneeringimperialist6667]

@@pariswashington5543 hello Karsus.. .

[@pariswashington5543]

@@sneeringimperialist6667 more like vecna

[@jujujohnson01]

You say a copy is in Myth Drannor, but that quote is pre-Sundering. So would they still be under the destruction of the Netherese city that Elminister crashed down onto the city?

[@AJPickett]

Nebulous, so, open to the DM putting them anywhere. I can quote from various sources, but they are all over a hundred years ago... the forgotten realms is a dynamic place.

[@puckshriekstheim6114]

Nice! My Land of the lost style zone in my party's setting was influenced by Ubtao and scaleyfolk,definitly gonna pop these bad boys down there.

[@victorvaldez8869]

I had an idea for a common wondrous item (or at least common for PCs to find.) The Rings Of Fu' Drun: A pair of rings that allow one of the party members to JUMP forward in time & land safely 50 feet from the wearer of the second ring. If the party member wearing the ring that stays going along with the rest of the timeline normally rests the one who jumped forward in time has the same benefits as if they had the rest as well. The ring also confers a bit knowledge on what happened in the interim with the ring that stayed flowing along the normal time stream. In order to leap forward the party must have a few minuets of meditation, thus it can't be done in combat. The real benefit of the rings is clearly in their name if you say it fast "Food Run," but with an in game explanation for why the other party member is silent & not doing anything.

[@immortalx0288]

I am currently running a campaign based around the Golden Skins of the World Serpent. After a deep dive into Realms lore I had already uncovered most of this knowledge and incorporated it into my storyline. All this came about because my players unintentionally created 3 characters with the Sage background.

[@zacharymcmillan2788]

🎶"We need a montage! Ooh,we need a montage! Time moves so much more quickly in a montage..."🎶 'Team America'

[@florenmage]

This must have been where bethesda got the idea for the elder scrolls.

[@dreammirrorbrony1240]

Ironic timing. My current campaign has been hinting our final dungeon might have one of the scrolls in it.

[@maxcaysey2844]

It was the Sarrukh who created the Golden Skins of the World Serpent!

[@eablount0]

I wonder where the broken up set is. I might have my players start located.

[@Serf_King]

Nethertheless?

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Time traveling is fun.

[@biblebot3947]

You should do Obox-Ob next

[@sagesheahan6732]

Do you ever see a video on KZbin that you've liked, and you want to double like it? Basically double down and like it again? AJ has a few videos I wish I could do that...

[@jorgeb1015]

Great video about ancient lore, AJ. As inspiring as always.

[@BadwickProductions]

Great video AJ! Really enjoy this superb deep lore filled videos :)

[@nobodyspecial9097]

Can we get a video on magical politics. I’d love to learn more about how the magical empires from many different planes and dimensions interacted with each other.

[@patrickjanecke5894]

Politics!? Think of the chaos that is magic economics. Now that can cause unintended disasters that ruin empires, and that's the good guys... Here's a link to some stuff that I've used before. The site looks dead, which is a shame, but whatever. critical-hits.com/blog/category/critical-hits/columns/dungeonomics/page/7/

[@chriscalvin5083]

good video AJ

[@That80sGuy1972]

I have similar artifacts (and items) in my campaigns. You know what makes mine a bit lame in comparison? Nowhere near the same level of rich history that was so much of a joy for you to narrate, AJ.

[@mytzyxptlyx]

Fing Glorious.

[@atomykebonpyre]

imagine if the scrolls gave a wizard access to 10th level magic and above. *creates floating island*

[@thomask5434]

Does this even make sense after the use of magic has been changed at least two times after the death of mystra. And how did Magic work before the goods existed. Question guys, questions.

[@draxthemsklonst]

Here's a RedNZBlue vid on that exact topic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6CWlahqq7mcmqs

[@alexkregel8915]

It seems that it should not lv up a player but give acsess to more spell slots or somthing. It seems that it will multiply your understanding of the knolage you have but not give you anything new. Like growing Crystal's it just changes the arrangement of molecules.

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Yeah, or allow more prepared/known spells.

[@kendrickrochelanzot2053]

That mystical music in the very beginning tho

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

You need a Dwemer Lexicon in order to read a Nether Scroll without going mad or blind....wait...wrong scrolls...

[@maclennanld]

That socceror at 21:50 has mad hat game

[@schizocdboy]

What was the source, you got the info about the ent related stuff you talked about. Ents are kind of important to the setting I'm running. Also a dryad bonded to an ent would be an interesting way to implement entwives, from Tolkien fantasy.

[@sneeringimperialist6667]

If there's a whole city full of wizards, how does a pc book time on a specific scroll?

[@muninrob]

By taking over the guild and getting first dibs on all research material

[@marcmielke]

Cast Time Stop before researching, that way it'll only take a second.

[@chrissnyder8415]

I love that you said that they repair themselves so it was impossible to tell how old they are but then say one set was tarnished and looked older than the other. Sure that makes sense to say one thing, then a few moments later, contradict what you just said.

[@jered_wolffe23]

He said they would repair thenselves from destruction, not necessarily polish themselves

[@georgemercer402]

They seem to be similar to the Elder Scrolls due to how much power is held within even one... just saying

[@kingmasterlord]

and the elder scrolls make you blind over time because they're tuned for the mind and energies of Toril and not Nirn? everything about tes fits as a cluster of planes similar to the Nine Hells. explains why the dwemer disappeared after playing with -bardic- tonal magic, they cast Mass Planeshift

[@vizerandevir6422]

Point of contention: why would the information contained within the scrolls be common knowledge in the current time? Wasn't Netheril supposed to be considerably more advanced in it's understanding and application of magic? Then the spellplague severed the weave and changed the rules, making the lost arcane knowledge of the Netherese no longer viable. Maybe I'm missing something with the rebirth of Mystral as Mystra, but it kinda seems like "what's the point" if the knowledge is now widely dispersed... ancient scholarly articles are one thing but I feel like the Nether Scrolls were supposed to contain more then just encyclopedias on the mythalars and the far realm.

[@vizerandevir6422]

Also thank you for covering more Netherese lore. I'm trying to get a better understand as I've tied the remnants of this empire into my current campaign heavily.

[@AJPickett]

The scrolls contain not just spell knowledge, they contain the principles of what spells are, the origin of these practices and hints of long lost civilizations. There are a lot of specific spells that have been lost, some were restricted after the fall of Netheril, but the underlying mechanics of magic have never changed.

[@euseicoisas_]

this video is very cool, i thing you should do it with a new and most audible audio do

[@scetchmonkey007]

You make a mistake saying that the "named wizard spells" where invented after the nether scrolls were made. Mordenkainen, Bigby, Melf and leomund all come from Greyhawk not Forgetten Realms. THus there spells came over from wizards that share there spells between worlds. Meaning they can exist at any time you wanted them too. Or at least an point in Toril where planar travel spells existed

[@AJPickett]

If you want to, sure. Lore wise, there is an established timeline between Toril, Oerth, Earth, etc. You can work out exactly what year it was that the spells were created by Mordenkainen, Bigby, etc. Have you checked out my video on Famous Wizards? I talk about the Greyhawk wizards from the dawn of D&D.

[@scetchmonkey007]

@@AJPickett I have that list and Bigby Mordenkainen and all the named wizards in the PHB are not on it because none are from Toril.

[@AJPickett]

@@scetchmonkey007 OK, let me slow down a little... yes, they are not from Toril, they are from Greyhawk/Oerth, that setting has a timeline and dating system (several) and you can work out what year those wizards made their spells (or made famous existing older spells by slapping their name on them), because you can work out the year on Oerth, you can also work out the year it was on Toril, because in various novels and such, events happen at the same time on both worlds. The precise details of which is even too nerdy for me, but I will take their word for it. Toril has particularly long prehistory compared to other world settings for D&D.

[@scetchmonkey007]

@@AJPickett The only way you can be sure on the year differences from greyhawk to toril is if you can be sure time flows the same in both worlds. Time flowing differently is how they explained Raistlin Elminister and Mordenkainen all meeting at the same time. But I doubt this is officially set. Or I think a better example of how time flows differently in different settings is the story of Lord Soth from dragonlance. Who went to ravenloft for centuries before returning back to Krynn 30 years later only to find that Khellindros has left for 30 years but lived thousands before returning to Krynn. Which is odd. Since if Time flows that way on Krynn compared to other worlds Then how did raistlin meet the centuries old wizards when he was only in his 30's. His life span would just be a blip on thier radar.

[@AJPickett]

@@scetchmonkey007 You're right, I don't know all the fine details, I know there is a calculator page online that gives year equivalents across all those settings, and I am open and clear with people that I don't go into the details of what all that is based on, I just trust that there are those even nerdier than myself who put all that together. Go check it out for yourself www.omnimulti.com/other/chrono.html

[@Damienx247]

How hard was it to not use Elder Scrolls music for the intro/ outro?

[@AJPickett]

Never crossed my mind.

[@whiterabbit75]

Damn, I want that room in the first picture, and it's contents. On a totally unrelated note, where can I find it? I'm asking for a friend... yeah...

[@ArkreusDG]

I’m going to use these in my world but I’m going to do it slightly differently where there’s 5 instead of 50 but it takes a super long time to read and it’s very hard to find

[@ArkreusDG]

Also their abilities (what you learn) might be altered by me

[@L0rdm3phiston]

Could there be dark nether scrolls?? They'd give necromantic magic info and demonic summoning information possibly just curious

[@draxthemsklonst]

You may find some more ideas for that concept here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6Szd4mcnpJ8hZY The Nether Scrolls, as is, would be invaluable to a Necromancer, simply because it gives thorough knowledge on magic fundamentals. Ioulaum read the scrolls, and from that foundation of understanding, developed a form of lichdom & a way to drain life from a whole city, to add to the caster's lifespan (Ioulaum's Longevity). The scrolls didn't teach him those spells, he made them, from scratch, after he read the Nether Scrolls info. Just an example.

[@khilorn]

*The Elder Scrolls theme intensifies*

[@jtb6737]

The books shown, are they available online like Dungeon Magazine?

[@AJPickett]

Officially, I would say you should check the DM's Guild for the titles listed, most are available quite cheap as downloadable PDF products, some can be printed on demand.

[@jtb6737]

@@AJPickett thank you

[@darthshivvis956]

This really the dude who wants a athas video

[@overlordofmidgard5876]

My current campaign revolves around finding the Nether Scrolls and unlocking their secrets so the party can stop a demonic incursion from overrunning the world.

[@tonyoliver4920]

Overlord of Midgard pray they don’t accidentally discover a ‘Never Scroll’ made of ruinite, a purple black metal, giving details on how to free Tharizdun, his creation of the abyss and other Malign Knowledge. As well as possible location of his artefacts and the prime temple Obex

[@overlordofmidgard5876]

Update on the campaign: the party has found all the scrolls they needed to formulate a plan to stop Lolth who is spearheading the demon incursion. Unfortunately by the time they get back from the Feywild 2.5 years will have passed...

[@saeyabor]

​@@overlordofmidgard5876 I need to know what happened lol.

[@overlordofmidgard5876]

@@saeyabor Well after returning from the Feywild, the party discovers that about 1/5th of the continent has been over run with demons. Using the Nether Scrolls they construct the Longbow of Deicide and had an epic level battle with Lolth in the Underdark.

[@saeyabor]

@@overlordofmidgard5876 Nice. Homebrew as planned, or "Out of the Abyss" gone sideways?

[@shawnhowe7311]

Thank Bleu

[@phizzhead53]

The barbarian attempts to read a nether scroll and he gets lessons in basic math lol. While your the text that appers to slightly more educated palidin is a introduction to vectors, math all wizards. Need to know to aim there spells

[@Scortch-lo3xy]

cool these seem very interesting might use them in my game

[@zhondortoth8699]

Let’s have some fun by having a cultist of Vecna working as a archivist send pc’s to recover the scrolls one by one from far flung places for a “grand university” then they have to get the full set back at the end of the quest line.

[@thedarkmaster4747]

"The knowledge goes sideways, and that is when the madness begins..." 🧙‍♂️😵📖 That said though, this vid has juiced my mind with even more world building inspiration. 🛠✨🌍

[@frankhughes7053]

May you please do a transcript of this video. Maybe bibliography. Lots of data of spell topics let alone many locations and dates per small part of each scroll

[@AJPickett]

There is a bibliography (with page numbers) in the video description text). Full transcripts of my videos are available to Patrons, its only a minimum of $1 per month to get full access to them all.

[@frankhughes7053]

AJ Pickett will you have another platform in the future with the transcript. I'm boycotting since the sargon of akkod thing.

[@frankhughes7053]

AJ Pickett thank you for the response and the amazing content. I appreciate your thoroughness of your research, with tastefull delivery. I must admit I watch each video many times to catch up with the data.

[@AJPickett]

@@frankhughes7053 I hear you, I am less than impressed with Patreon for a number of reasons. Hopefully I will be able to sort out an alternative system, but for now, it's the devil I know. :(

[@frankhughes7053]

AJ Pickett so patreon is lawful evil then

[@pikachufantastic]

I wonder if we will get a video on the history of Chronomancy and other magics that work more on the fundamentals of reality. Yes I'm aware wish is kinda the be all end all to making reality your toy.

[@kevinchristiansen982]

I like, I like... excellente aj!

[@LurkerDaBerzerker]

*Relevant and Supportive Comment*

[@tulpa5599]

3:00 Nether the less...

[@sagesheahan6732]

Yaaay!!!

[@Dualbladedscorpion7737]

Nether scrolls hmm.. We need those in minecraft

[@heraadrian7764]

Nether Scrolls sounds like a medieval name for toilet paper.

[@hypocriticaltroll9471]

Swipe.

[@Hero-yu4om]

elder scrolls

[@FranciscoRamirez-pe9xf]

found the skyrim!

[@vasilikiyount901]

Reminds me of a certain Skyrim scroll....hmm........

[@Suffering4Success]

*The elder scrolls*

[@TheForgottenGodLurks]

Noice