Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Obox-Ob and the Queen of Chaos

The origin of Demons, the history of the Abyss, the true nature of the Balance within the Dungeons and Dragons multiverse, so many secrets, so many explanations in this conceptual tour of the Age before Ages!
0:09 Intro, Become a member!
0:23 Overview of the video
1:32 One of Many Beginnings, the demon's version
3:40 Tharizdun, the Arrival of the Obyreth, and the Shard
5:45 Trapping Tharizdun, The Abyss
9:02 The First Demons rise
11:34 Obox-Ob and the other Obyreth Lords
14:11 Baator and the age before ages
15:34 The Queen of Chaos
17:55 Miska the Wolf-Spider, the gambit or power, The Rod of Law (Seven Parts)
20:03 Obox-ob is struck down, Queen creates the Tanar'ri,
21:30 The remenants of Obox-Ob and reestablishing power
24:58 Tanar'ri demons purpose and conquering the prime material
26:03 The Ekolid and the plane of Zionyn
This channel now represented on ViewerPrime, go to www.viewerprim... and sign up, use AJPICKETT code when you sign up, and get access to all my content, plus hundreds of other channels and shows, support me, support creative freedom. Let's give KZbin some competition!!
Become a Member:
/ ajpickett
Become a patron:
/ themightygluestick
Join the Discord community:
discordapp.com...
Shop for Mighty Gluestick Merchandise:
teespring.com/...
Also uploading to BitChute:
www.bitchute.c...
Friend us on Facebook:
/ themightygluestick
Channel music by EPIDEMIC SOUND
Channel graphics editing by RedNZblue

[@justinbaskall8291]

Timestamps and Spoilers below! 0:09 Intro, Become a member! 0:23 Overview of the video 1:32 One of Many Beginnings, the demon's version 3:40 Tharizdun, the Arrival of the Obyreth, and the Shard 5:45 Trapping Tharizdun, The Abyss 9:02 The First Demons rise 11:34 Obox-Ob and the other Obyreth Lords 14:11 Baator and the age before ages 15:34 The Queen of Chaos 17:55 Miska the Wolf-Spider, the gambit or power, The Rod of Law (Seven Parts) 20:03 Obox-ob is struck down, Queen creates the Tanar'ri, 21:30 The remenants of Obox-Ob and reestablishing power 24:58 Tanar'ri demons purpose and conquering the prime material 26:03 The Ekolid and the plane of Zionyn Like, Share, Comment, Subscribe, hit the Bell icon, and join us on the discord. Always love learning little secret things in the dark places of the D&D cosmos that spell the doom for all reality like the Blood Shallows, makes me want to look into some of these places and see what storylines we can pull from them. Another of my favorites if the Abyssal Plane known as Twelve Trees, definately worth looking into, expecially when you make it possible that one of the twelve escaped and now demons spread across the planes seeking to find the escaped victim. I replaced the mad Deva in Curse of Strahd with one such angel, and it provided even more background for such an excellent character. If you enjoyed this, definately check out the other videos for the Lords of Ruin on Aj's channel, Pazzuzu is an excellent video worth watching. If the hint of the actual purpose of Vecna with Tharizdun caught your attention, check out AJ's video on Vecna, or the video on the Wind Dukes for more info on the Queen of Chaos' war with the elemental planes. Pazzuzu: kzbin.info/www/bejne/anOTgal7j8uAbKM Vecna: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJPXlWOHd6mdoNk The Wind Dukes of Aqaa: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXW5oXtjarCiea8

[@stevewinkleburg5300]

I liked Pazuzu, but dagon was my favorite. It told a lot about cult worship for dagon and gave me good ideas who his rivals are

[@justinbaskall8291]

@@stevewinkleburg5300 a very good recommendation as well!

[@DkKombo]

Very nice!! Thanks a lot for that info dump! I'd love and pin your comment myself if I could.

[@dragonballtalk8527]

Biggest info dump in a comment I seen on this channel bub

[@dragonballtalk8527]

@Kyle Rolnick I only read part

[@vizerandevir6422]

Of all the hilarious ways automatic CC picked up "Obox-Ob" the most hilarious one was "awkward sob".

[@AJPickett]

Tharizderp :)

[@draxthemsklonst]

Miss Cur the Wool Spider

[@joshuazane3210]

Automatic cc, especially if the person has a non-american accent is great. It just loses its mind.

[@sagesheahan6732]

Lmao

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

Thurizdun gazed across the void between existences and witnessed something. A sound escaped his throat. His voice, thick with madness, he issued an awkward sob

[@chara2038]

I'm currently playing with a Obox-Ob priestess in one of the campaings i'm participating in, using the Vermin domain from the Tome of Heroes book. The party once made fun of her, saying that she acts kinda like a poor version of a Disney princess: speaking with mice, other rodents and insects. Can't wait until they find out what is the "God" she actually follows

[@mrmackie-qp6lr]

Please let me know how that turns out

[@ryderma1]

I'm back again.. Hesitant to say this, because AJ has so many excellent videos. I think this one us my favorite.

[@relint12]

Same for me, really covers a lot of bases for building out planar history and inspires me to want to build an epic level campaign around what amounts to the 'original sin' of the D&D cosmos. Instead of a snake and an apple you have Obox-ob and a Ruby Shard.

[@22CAJ]

I still can't wrap my head around all of this. Fascinating! But complicated. It's all very cosmic horror, and I love that.

[@Derinma]

Beksinski is my favourite artist. This was visually wonderful along with the nerd stuff.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

Here is an idea. The abyss is Obox-Ob. And what the queen of chaos did was shatter his mind away from his greater self. Allowing her to use that great well of power for her own purposes. But she vastly overestimated her own cleverness in this ploy and as a result was deposed. Now the game is to keep Obox-Ob from ever reforming enough of his self to reestablish control over his own being. Essentially keep him distracted with his own shattered perspective so he remains dormant.

[@Greenscyth22]

I'd love to know what the Obyrith/demon's forms looked like before their "exodus" to the Far Realm? Presumably much more terrifying that what they are now. Also, were the Obyrith actually considered "evil" prior to their bleeding into the Far Realm. I always thought that the entities in the Far Realm were just abstract and alien, not evil. I'm sure demonic oozes, slimes and jellies must be a "blessing" on the 663 layer as they can dissolve the vast amount of corpses down to nothing. I also never thought of Asmodeus and the devils as being gatekeepers against that level of chaos. I can see Asmodeus griping to the celestial lords "You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall".

[@zacharyhawley1693]

You could argue Obyrith's once were like normal mortals. Hell, might even once even been human for all we know. My personal Homebrew explanation for them goes like this. Mortals much like netheril got the barest taste of power by mastering demiplane creation and that was the beginning of the end. They transmitted this knowledge culture wide and by the time the gods realized what was going on. The world had been torn asunder as each claimed for themselves a sliver of their broken world. The gods hoped that would be the end of it. But it wasn't. The survivors had become... More than mere mortals and the gods were no longer venerated they were rivals to be disposed of. The proto-Obyriths had been born and when they looked out at the wide cosmos and their multiverse and they hungered to rule it all, Millennia past as they regrouped and consolidated their festering power and when they were ready. One by one they hunted down their lofty rivals even as they tore the multiverse apart to add to their own slice of the cosmos and warred amongst themselves. Destabilizing creation in the process. As the last god fell enfeebled and utterly devoured, they had long since been obyrith.

[@zachhill2831]

Makes me want to make a PC whose entire goal is to unite the two aspects of Obox-Ob.

[@vaultscribe4501]

This was excellent. And your theories line up with my creeping suspicion that this multiverse is very much like the Norse and Greek and Egyptian one that long preceded it. The idea being that the heroes of the worlds are all fighting to eventually take part in a final ragnarok. Where a new multiverse will be born from those able to escape the end.

[@madmalone6616]

Really great job making the D&D lore so much richer. I love lore videos but your choices of description words and art choices are damnable excellent!!!👽

[@AJPickett]

Glad you like them!

[@Gomjibar]

I just thought of something fun a DM could do using these videos. If you are in a ancient/arcane library and looking into one of the forbidden books, have the player watch one of these video's. The player's character now knows about the topic that was discussed in the video and must role madness checks or choose if they what to take action/advantage of what they now know. Imaging doing that to a player with this video, completely destroying a characters world view and could alter their whole goals in life. Do they keep going as if nothing is wrong? Try to escape the multiverse? Willingly aid the forces of Hell to fight the demons? Or do they join the demons in destroying reality?

[@ashvandal5697]

I've always been fascinated by Miska the Wolf-Spider and the Queen of Chaos. Their story seems like it would be so interesting, though it's just barely hinted at in official lore. Like why is QoC still in hiding. So many eons later, why has she not made another bid for power. I mean she literally just stripped Obox-Ob of the Prince of Demons domain regency and handed it to another. How could she be so practically divine, and then just barricade herself on the 14th level never to be seen or heard of again. We don't even have a module into the 14th layer just to see it. Even Savage Tide didn't explore it.

[@vynal187theunseen3]

6:25 “while he dreams the dungeons and dragons multiverse exist” So basically Tharizdun is the d&d version of Azathoth from the Cthulhu Mythos am I right?

[@AJPickett]

yes

[@darrylviljoen6227]

Pale night is shub-niggurath. Pazuzu is nyalarthotep

[@bray2964]

It's an interesting take on Azatoth. In the C'thulu mythos, reality as we know it exists within the dreams of Azatoth. When he wakes, the dreams end, and so reality as we know it ends. Tharizdun on the other hand is a part of reality, but once it awakens from its dream it will destroy everything else. They're very different in how they work, yet they are extremely similar in their roles within their respective cosmologies.

[@J0eMega]

He’s actually a broken God who can only communicate through broken babbling, and he couldn’t even take on the Gods to reach the astral sea, but yeah, that works too lol.

[@TypeZeta2]

I swear the more I learn about the Obyrith and the Abyss the more it feels like my sanity is slipping away. It''s truly a multiverse of MADNESS

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

Tharzidun, the current villain in Critical Role campaign 2. I only watched 33 or 35 episodes or so, but there are hints that Tharzidun will eventually face off against the Mighty Neign who are nuetral aligned characters with most of them being chaotic nuetral or true nuetral.

[@spontaneouscombustionman3012]

Interesting thought, perhaps Orcus is the ultimate accidental savoir of all other multiverses, as he wants to end all everything the ever evered, perhaps he succeeds, destroys the dnd multiverse, but in the end prevents the abyss and its corruption from spreading.

[@nullvoid4063]

Fantastic work AJ! Wayne Barlowe would be proud of the descriptions and images that you evoke with your commentary. I always enjoy seeing the improvements to your production. Keep up the great work!

[@MaxGideonActor]

To those who complain about too much evil -- we should have a hope of salvation -- this can't be the ultimate fate: Well, that's just the way it is. In our version of reality, the universe as a whole is all falling to Entropy, to eventual nothingness, a version of Tharizdun's dream, a clean slate of even subatomic particles. The hope for a "good" outcome is pure sentiment -- nothing wrong by having the sentiment, and everyone should, as the nothingness outcome really matters not at all to your life or likely anyone's, because a difference can be made within your own spheres of existence, and that's where you should focus. Also, that dichotomy in a character's mind of the now and later possibilities make dynamic interaction, storytelling, and playing. What use is hope or my actions when it will all be annihilated in the end? That's up to you. Just not "saving" the universe. If it helps, the fate of the multi-multi-verse hasn't been determined (if Tharizdun has some limits), so you could put your hope there, if you can't divide yourself from only complaining. ;) As for all three alignments having equal power -- where's the fun in that? Sounds boring, just another eternal Blood War. Second, it isn't ever true anywhere -- the forces of "good" or for some lawful or explicitly lawful good are in reality always miniscule compared to the others. We live in a time of more Neutral to lawful evil than seen in awhile. Those who seek to make the world better for everyone are a life raft in an ocean of chaos and evil. Pity and sympathy don't exist mostly in the natural world -- they were evolved higher concepts that when actually implemented are fundamental to our survival, though they are not the ultimate weapon in the defeat of the evils waiting all around, only a bastion -- -- a wish we pray to spread everywhere so that we might be safe from the truth.

[@dragonturtle2703]

0.) If it won't take too much time on your part, what part of this is cannon and what parts are logical assumptions? 1.) Are the individual layers of the Abyss infinite, or just the number of layers? 2.) Is there a blood war like conflict between the demons, and elemental plains, or the chaotic side or center (the Outlands) of the Great Wheel, or is it just the blood war? 3.) Why are the Nine Hells so important? Is it just that corrupting half the Great Wheel will give them tones of power, or is the thing about a portal to anywhere in the multiverse at the bottom of the Nine Hells (like the portal out of the multiverse on top of Mount Celectia) true? 4.) Does Morden Kanen just assume the Abyss can't be pushed back (or just not want gods to try poking it again? 5.) I have a theory about why the Abyss is considered an outer plane, and wanted to get your opinion on it. We know that the planes are arranged based on alignment, and as that shifts, so can a part of a plane break off and move. Is it that the entirety of the corrupted parts of the outer planes just broke off, moved towards the chaoric evil part (overwhelming whatever might have been there), and that so much of the Abyss being there made it sort of the "heart/center" of it as far as the rest of the multiverse is concerned? 7.) What happens to those random demons? Are they all eaten, or are some allowed to go on, or hauled back to the [things I can't spell so will just call Seps] to get a more standardized form? 8.) Are all of the random demons from the initial amorphous mass of conjoined thought/soul stuff, or also souls sent there? 9.) How do demons "rank up"? Do they need to be remade by the Seps, or do the just evolve like a pokemon when they destroy enough (like an ork gets bigger)? 10.) Can demon lords alter themselves and/or their demons themselves (with varying degrees of skill), or are the seps the only ones with the ability? 11.) Are there new demon "templates" added to roster? 12.) Can demons go "feral" and start to deviate from the templates? 13.) Do demon lords have any sort of effect on their following, or are they normal? 14.) Are demons on the same plane as a demon lord just automatically drawn to following them, or can they resist it and remain independent, or betray they leader in a moment of weakness? 15.) Are you just automatically a demon lord if you are the most powerful thing on a layer, or have subjugated anything in it (assuming there is anything else) or do you need something else? 16.) How does it work with thing like Zugmois/Jublexes layer where it is contested? Do they both get it, get half, or none of it? 17.) Would the hypothetical Abysses in the other multiverses be (copies of) the same Obarith, or different ones? 18.) What were the gods doing in the initial Abyss spreading? Were they distracted by Therisdone, or just didn't notice? 19.) What do non-lawful good gods use for angels? I figure they use demons, devils, yugoloths, guardsmen, etc instead of archons, but do they not have angels? Do they have dark angels? Ones that are bound by their lawfulness to obey? 20.) Why would if have been worse for the shard of ultimate evil to be put in the astral plane than the elemental ones? 21.) Since the Abyss is now consuming an infinite multiverse at a finite rate, will it take infinity to consume the multiverse, or is there a real chance someone other than an outsider, god, immortal lich, etc to have to worry about it (on a multiversal scale, as opposed to the world you are on specifically)?

[@AJPickett]

0.) The information on the Obyrith's home Multiverse is basically non-existant, so that is my take, also the dreaming state of Tharizdun, there is next to no lore on that either, but I hope everyone can see that I am attempting to logically extrapolate on existing lore to fill the gaps. It's entirely optional, after all. Some parts draw on articles from Dungeon magazine, which is usually a source I put lower stock in than Dragon magazine articles, but it had more info on the second aspect of Obox-ob which I thought was very interesting. 1.) There are a finite number of layers, they are not consecutive, the numbers are just an attempt to list them, they vary in nature, some are infinite, some are not. 2.) Primordial powers operate in the elemental planes, where the conflict goes, so do the devils, the Blood War is the catch all title of all areas of conflict. 3.) Don't forget that the Nine Hells is a plane of LAW, not just evil, it is a plane of governance and control of the lower outer planes. 4.) Mordenkainen may have some awareness that the abyss is an entity. 5.) The wheel is representative, what really matters are the gateways and connections, the Abyss is chaos, it has connections all over the place, but conceptually, it slots into that part of the great wheel. 7.) The majority of the population of the Abyss are not Tarar'ri demons, they are a collection of random roll tables that churn out monsters with a few traits in common. 8.) Also souls sent there, it is nearly impossible for a soul sent to the abyss to remain intact (anyway, they are usually insane in the first place). 9.) Tanar'ri have higher rank forms programmed into them, other demons just get larger, or more powerful, or have more abilities, or all of the above (see: Demogorgon). The most powerful demons often have other demons who share some of the demon lord's traits, as they soak up the power of their lord. 10.) Yeah, they can. 11.) The newest types are the Iomara. 12.) To a limited extent, the more powerful they are, the more unique traits they have, it seems. 13.) They absolutely do. 14.) All of the above. 15.) I think a primary factor is the power to take and HOLD a layer and to regain power even after a severe beating. 16.) Case by case basis. 17.) Unknown. 18.) Unknown, history seems to have been rewritten several times since. I was presenting history from the demon's point of view. 19.) 4th edition tried to impose a generic system to everything. I reject that. Angels don't "work for" the gods, they work for the Multiverse and themselves. 20.) Because instead of driving Tharizdun insane and then having to drive MATTER insane, they could have driven ALL SENTIENT LIFE insane, instantly, everywhere. 21.) It will take infinity to consume the multiverse, this is another part of entering the multiverse via Tharizdun, the god of entropy.

[@That80sGuy1972]

@@AJPickett Sage level: 100

[@dragonturtle2703]

@@AJPickett Thanks. Probably going to take all of this (that isn't actual cannon) as head cannon anyway. Just figured might be important to know in case I start telling someone something is official if it isn't. P.s. Really appreciate how you answer peoples questions, especially long ones like these.

[@tatsusama3192]

Me seeing the thumbnail: ". . . Pizza for lunch was a bad choice" - The current (now haulted) Critical Role campaign has this mess, Tharizdun, as the big bad. Unknowing cult members tricked into following him. It's a good story - I always love how serious and focused your voice and tone are during your videos. It always matches the subject perfectly. Then, no matter how dark the subject, your regular personality pops back instantly😂 "(after speaking about horrible horrifying things for 30-40+ minutes) Welp! Thanks for watching. See ya next time"

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

Only watched between 33-35 episodes and I already see hints of Tharzidun. I'm pretty sure he'll pop up again in campaign 2. Not to mention Liam's character from Sam's first one-shot, Jayne Merriweather could appear within campaign 2. Yet I think Caleb getting kidnapped and replaced by Jayne could work. Since the Mighty Neign are mainly chaotic nuetral and true nuetral I can see Jayne pretending to be a follower of the Traveler before eventually betraying them. By then Caleb would have been rescued. That's only if Liam and Matt decide to have that happen though.

[@cernunnos_lives]

Absolutely love your in depth coverage. I haven't played D&D for 20 years now but I have been catching up lately. Been trying to get back to who & what I was growing up. And I have to say, I like 5E. I think it's better repackaged like this.

[@AJPickett]

Welcome back!

[@dominusbalial835]

Personally my first experience was with 5th edition, but I absolutely hate how they've dumbed everything down in the 5th edition books, although I must say they did a good job making the game easily accessible and understandable for newer players.

[@tristanswan1067]

“If your mind was blown a little bit” Understatement of the century

[@shamusfarmer]

That's fascinating, I didn't know we knew ANY details about the obarinth's dead universe... But you knew. Somehow. 🤨

[@keylimepython641]

Plot twist: AJ Pickett is no mere human, but in fact the oldest entity in the D&D Multiverse.

[@shamusfarmer]

@@keylimepython641 I knew it! The mustache gave it away...

[@vlepo2000]

Incredible and best story telling with very good expression ... your best video out of all the ones I have heard over the years !!!

[@AJPickett]

Thank you!

[@Ogorodovd]

As a newbie DM, your content has been a huge help. Thank you for all your hardwork

[@AJPickett]

You're most welcome.

[@TheHornedKing]

These videos are what is giving me the opinion that DnD got the best portrayal of "pure evil". The horror and malice of these things just seem to be on an entirely different level than anything else I have seen.

[@jprp999]

Never met a Politician?

[@TheHornedKing]

@@jprp999 Thankfully, no.

[@TheHornedKing]

@Regular Slime It didn't need salt.

[@jorywalkinshaw9249]

Again, this video in particular is just so great.

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

I've been so excited since you teased this video 😬😬😬

[@kannathraymaker]

Nice take on the lore.

[@AJPickett]

Thanks Ted :)

[@andrewmcgee9759]

I wonder what would happen if demogorgon died what kind of chaos would happen in the abyss

[@AJPickett]

There would be a massive feeding on his released demonic power.

[@zacharyhawley1693]

Grazz't, Orcus and generally every demon lord would go into a feeding frenzy. There can only be one lord of demons.

[@dracorex426]

If the only exit is at the summit of Mount Celestia, a place inimical to all that is not Lawful and Good, that really screws over the forces of Chaotic Good.

[@wolf2403]

Dafuq is inimical?

[@ShadowedBattlegroundsCre-tk9md]

They can always change alignment. Most chaotic good forces are not concerned with ultimate transcendence though they're souls that live one good lifetime and then disappear with no continuity which can be seen as a blessing in some way

[@User-r5g5f]

That little bit starting at 6:46 and ending with the mention of Vecna. Was that an endorsement of Vecna by A.J ? If so, is Vecna acting as a predator or is he performing a duty (gatekeeper) that fits his new status.

[@AJPickett]

*sound of eldritch crickets chirping*

[@damionsailors3148]

Have enjoyed your channel for awhile and I really appreciate seeing citations on the art you are using now - keep up the good work, AJ!

[@dracorex426]

What if the multiverse that the Obyrith come from is the same one that they arrived in?

[@semi-useful5178]

Then where did they even come from?

[@AJPickett]

Hmmm, time travel eh? Interesting.

[@dracorex426]

@@semi-useful5178 Their own future.

[@dracorex426]

@@AJPickett Yeah, the description of the dying reality they escaped from and the future of reality they're killing sound eerily similar. It would be ironic, if they were the cause of their own creation and destruction.

[@semi-useful5178]

@@dracorex426 It's a similar question to if you go back in time and introduce Beethoven's Music, are you Beethoven? and if so where did the music even come from?

[@madpro7202]

Zionyn sounds like the neighborhood I grew up in.

[@masync183]

that's where our parents used to walk when they went to school

[@darrylviljoen6227]

Yay. you made it. :D terrifying individual. D&D multiverse is a scary place to live.

[@darrylviljoen6227]

i realised something last night, there are some big H.P. Lovecraft fans at WotC. Tharizdun, a dreaming god who will destroy the multiverse when he wakes up. a lot like Azathoth. Pale Night, the mother of monsters is eerily similar to Shub-Niggurath Pazuzu is is also like Nyarlathotep

[@SkullCowboy333]

So the Elder Elemental Eye is in fact a refraction of Azathoth or the other way around. All of this makes sense and links the Doom Dreamers to the sorts of adepts linked to the mythos of the Necronomicon in a sense. You capture the cancer like nature of demons and the like well versus the actual dark sense of order of devils. I could go on but I just want to say thank you.

[@Arius_Astronomy]

To surmise most settings at this point Tharizdun usually screws up or tries to break reality. Sometimes one leading to the other thus causing the majority of the adventure hooks in D&D directly or indirectly. Yet he is mentioned so sparsely in 5E 🤔.

[@Arius_Astronomy]

I think Thanks Tharizdun can be a new D&D meme.

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

Well he is the BBEG in Critical Role campaign 2. He's been hinted at a lot from the episodes I've seen/listened to.

[@TerrariaGolem]

Ooh a premiere! Really neat.

[@JanusKastin]

So the Queen of Chaos' betraly of Obox-Ob inadverdantly bought the multiverse quite a bit more time. In a weird roundabout way, I suppose we should thank her?

[@AJPickett]

The Queen of Chaos did nothing wrong... Lol. No no..

[@ginocred4376]

Definitely one of your best!

[@onemisterfranko]

How on earth is something like this supposed to be fought against?

[@AJPickett]

Well the first step is always telling someone to hold your beer...

[@onemisterfranko]

@@AJPickett that got me to chuckle, I mean I guess if you really did have to go after something that twisted and evil you first of all need some high level player characters and a full paladin and clerical order of the various gods at your back. lol

[@gargoyles9999]

Bard

[@Dreadnaux]

Hit it with an axe

[@warface4881]

With my spear and magic helmet!

[@wallacewilliams535]

OMG... that was so good. you should like totally do this for a living, but with delectably decadent Kiwi cheeses. no really, you gave my brain tinnitus. goodjob.

[@AJPickett]

:) I am doing this for a living, thank you Wallace, much appreciated!

[@wallacewilliams535]

@@AJPickett I know, I _know_! (sarcasm's hard to convey by txt) I've been binge watching you for a little minute now.

[@mcfender19]

So do you think there would be signs that Obox-ob is regaining or attempting to regain his strength, similar to the signs of an approaching elder evil?

[@bradleyallen6883]

Probably not if he could help it. He seems like more of a "Surprise Mechanics" type of dude.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

I would argue Obox-ob is the original elder evil. That they mimic him. His rise would cause reality to shudder. Until he has power and control enough to make it all go quiet. Then a slow, creeping, corrupting chaos.

[@benthomason3307]

I often like to imagine what D&D's demons owuld be like if the obyrith had stayed in their own multiverse. I imagine they'd basically just be murderhobos who blow stuff up and murder people for shits and giggles, and who would very much prefer that the multiverse _not_ be destroyed, because then there'd be nobody to play with (read: dismember) anymore.

[@Jeremycook_]

So the Queen of Choas is basically Ursula. I like it.

[@SeraphimKnight]

AJ: don't eat or drink anything for this video Me, already chomping on a huge salami: *shrug*

[@mikemccoy5092]

Damn that was interesting learn something new every day

[@purplehaze2358]

I actually thought you already did a video on the QOC.

[@AJPickett]

She gets a lot of mentions... tentacles in many pies.

[@PartyItUp4Ever]

AJ Pickett sounds like my saturdays

[@karlandersson8652]

the WHAT angels? LOL

[@AJPickett]

Nega-angel. Reverse angels.

[@tatsusama3192]

🤣🤣

[@neogod29]

I had a double take on that too. Lol

[@karlandersson8652]

@@AJPickett aah ;)

[@tatsusama3192]

@@karlandersson8652 It doesn't help that the first picture that was shown after this had brown faced skulls😂

[@claykeeton1331]

thank you for all the work you did on all this. i have been running a homebrew world for over 30 years. i always used the basic D&D pantheon with a few of my own gods thrown in. i have wanted to expand the influence of demons/devils/celestials on my world (i love Supernatural). it always seemed so daunting but you have given me the resource i really needed to make it work!

[@rickeymariu1]

Finially! I requested this years ago!

[@wobblefoot7607]

Tharizdun is for sure the BBEG in my current campaign. One of the parties closest allies, an NPC, has recently come upon the Druniazth and has been acting strangely. Hearing voices and going on long errands to retrieve artifacts of various powers. I've flavoured each of the Tharizdun stones as a minor artifact with its own abilities and levels of power & the party is using them. . binding them to their astral mage tower to increase their power not knowing what they do. The newest stone can attune to different planes and with enough power.. "punch through" the barriers of reality using the enpowered tower and the Druniazth as a focul point. Their NPC buddy and his quests are surreptitiously bringing the Dark God closer to freedom and the end of the universe as they know it.

[@sojh17]

Hell yeah this was great

[@alexanderlaplante5477]

Merry Christmas great sage,another wonderful night, ending with the old lore, cheese,and whiskey top off. Thanks for everything you do, may the glue stick never run dry!

[@TheSteelGuy]

Yeah, I'm going to wait a while before having breakfast now.

[@simonwhitworth2040]

Mind-blowing indeed!

[@djuradimitrijevic9570]

I like to watch demon lore videos when i eat ... preferably diner before i go to sleep . Do i have a problem ?

[@TheGreatPower365]

Only if your dinner is babies.

[@guybob548]

Or if you mind the company of a Homonculus or two.

[@nathanmitchell9695]

I'm going to say no. Because if I said yes, that would mean admitting that I have the same problem.

[@szasstam5131]

Am I the only one who got irrationally mad at that gif of the water being poorly poured at 0:25?

[@DetMagicNZ]

I had a choice between that and the water being poured perfectly and thought "Obox Ob does not like satisfaction".

[@rickeymariu1]

Thank you A.J.

[@zekenava6444]

Why the pic of cheese

[@AJPickett]

I like cheese

[@carlborneke8641]

@@AJPickett Me too

[@BrainsInBlackButter]

Wow, these descriptions of horror, filth, and obscenity you detail are so fascinating! It's a good thing its all pure imagination, right?....RIGHT?!? So, why is this one my favorite? I wonder what that says about me...yikes!

[@trajanfidelis1532]

Can the Obryth “breed” with each other?

[@AJPickett]

I'm sure some can, they are quite different from each other.

[@zacharyhawley1693]

Pale Night is a breeding machine. So definitely yes. But the lesser ones might not even be aware of the concept of reproduction in general.

[@ZoxHorde]

So sitting back with a tasty beverage for this one.

[@theHedgex1]

I forgot if the mother in Coraline is a Beldam or not. Can we take a look at the creature?

[@XXX_xxxxxxxx]

I think so,the trapped ghosts of the children called her the Beldam

[@AJPickett]

Good choice

[@theHedgex1]

thanks guys. I found little info on this monster but what I did scream end game boss.

[@lostoneiros]

why couldn't I snack to this?

[@ninjabreadman911]

26:08 ooooooohhhhhhh... NEGA-angels, like inverse. for a moment i thought things had... gone much worse.

[@brotatochimp]

IT'S THE NEGA-CHIN

[@madpro7202]

Yeah I caught that shit too. Had to make a double take

[@larrylarry1179]

nice day dnd lore bong rips and pizza :)

[@AJPickett]

I miss pizza.

[@That80sGuy1972]

@@AJPickett Oh man! You got robbed. Here in the USA, just about every business is doing no-contact delivery. Most of us can still get pizza. I work at a place that makes pizza. I will eat a slice tomarrow in your honor.

[@northeastoperations]

Tharizdun VS Azathoth

[@adamholcomb1906]

This is some lore I would my Drow Necromancer to somehow gains the knowledge of💀🕷🕸👍🏼👍🏼💯

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Well hell AJ,you may just have to do the Wolf Spider next! Great vid keep crankin them out ol son! By the way my neighbor said you look great with a bald head! Shes hot bro! I think shes crushing on you! 😂 lol You kiwis with that accent....i think thats what got her.

[@AJPickett]

Tell her I said "hey".

[@michaelkelligan7931]

@@AJPickett got it!

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Mishka the Wolf Spider was the queens greatest General as well as consort! Be interesting to hear your take on him....he's a beast!

[@DetMagicNZ]

@@michaelkelligan7931 If AJ does that one he can edit it himself

[@mytzyxptlyx]

Fing Glorious

[@bryguy12580]

More Lords of Ruin. Awwwww yis!💙

[@Scortch-lo3xy]

great vid AJ...how horrifying, this guy is worse than tharizdun by a mile

[@nandodando9695]

1 full pint glass of Nightmare juice please

[@AJPickett]

First one is on the house.

[@nandodando9695]

@@AJPickett To your health!

[@migcasas1]

I would like to see Obyriths and Far Realm come into conflict

[@Ieatpaste23]

4th completely ex 1-3 had for lore.

[@itaykerensm1629]

26:10 "Oboxob's ???? angels"? I didn't understand that word

[@macguyverbond7480]

itay keren SM1 nega-angels as in negative/opposite/inverse

[@itaykerensm1629]

@@macguyverbond7480 ohh..... I was hearing something really quite different. Thanks!

[@AJPickett]

*sigh* good grief people.

[@yeayeayea7619]

@@AJPickett Sorry AJ, but we can only hear what you said, not what you meant to say. Just articulate better next time and be glad your fans came down here to confirm things instead of jumping down your throat.

[@DevilmanEnvoy]

That was horrifying.

[@Mr_Maiq_The_Liar]

"before the recordings of any living race" is not an acceptable handwave in D&D. The aboleth exists

[@AJPickett]

Spellweavers are amused by the Aboleth whipper snappers. Ygorl laughs in negative time....

[@Mr_Maiq_The_Liar]

AJ Pickett that’s a terrifying response

[@AJPickett]

@@Mr_Maiq_The_Liar That is the correct emotional reaction. Congratulations, you are certified "Sane".

[@loganslone5621]

TL;DR. Therizdun downloaded some bad mods and got a really bad virus. He then dropped a cheat item in the test zone and now the game is slowly folding in on itself.

[@steveharrison76]

Another amazingly timed advert break: “there is a doorway that exits the D&D universe for a different place entirely... VISIT SCOTLAND...”

[@sagesheahan6732]

😂😂

[@MythosTheSophist]

In the D&D lore, there exist portals connecting Earth to Toril. We know Elminster has made one that links to Yellowstone Park. Just saying...

[@jacobfreeman5444]

A thought occured to me. What if, to the gods, this creation is already ended? Time means nothing to them so they can see the begining and end as easily as if they were looking at two points from an overlooking hill. The point of the squabbles over souls is to seperate the wheat from the chaff. The parts that are still good from that which became corrupted. And why they fight Tharizdun is because in his madness he would indiscriminately condemn it all to the forges of creation rather then save the good bits to use as the foundations of the next attempt. So they just distract him with slight of hand while sorting it all out.

[@Avigorus]

That bit about the dreaming Tharizdun reminded me of the Elder Scrolls lore around CHIM, how that entire multiverse is itself a dream and realizing that fact causes most entities to cease to exist from pure existential crisis except those who have a big enough ego or whatever to hold onto their sense of self in the face of their own etherealness, with the one aberration of this being dichotomy being Dagoth Ur, who deluded himself into believing that he was the dreamer after death and dreamed himself back into their dream-reality from beyond the grave, at least partly due to having attuned to a powerful artifact with a relatively close link to the dreamer itself, the Heart of Lorkhan, which basically became his phylactery (simplification).

[@alexinfinite7142]

Lol it's a pretty confusing and in depth story. I'm glad you brought it up here

[@neogod29]

There may actually be 2 exits. Remember,there's also a door in the bottom of Hell, a door the devils can't use and built Asmodeus' castle around.

[@Mortablunt]

Well that's horrifying.

[@AJPickett]

The door at the bottom of Nessus goes anywhere within the D&D multiverse, as do the portals within Sigil. The portal at the apex of Celestia goes... Out.

[@neogod29]

@@AJPickett either way, when things become too dicey, and Airimon decides he doesn't want to be Asmodeus anymore, or Jisarian decides it's time to end things, and one of them goes through a door and leave their plane, the universe is toast anyway.

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

@@neogod29 I think the Asmodeus avatar became his own independent being at some point though.

[@johngleeman8347]

That last bit. You might just be crazy enough to have a need and powerful enough to survive your trip to Obox-ob's domain. BUT! You will take the smell of those swollen, rotten corpses stretching out as far as the eye can see and the unrelenting drone of the cloud of demonic insects flying overhead with you to your grave. Even while you yet live, you will hear the buzzing and smell the acrid flesh off in the distance as you lay down your head before the sweet embrace of sleep rescues you. For a time. >:3

[@zaqzilla1]

Tharizdun sounds a lot like Lovecraft's Azathoth.

[@OmusKnowsAll]

AJ, you truly are my favorite Loremaster. You have given so many ideas for my Campaign world that I am bursting with creativity during the last 2½ years.

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

AJ describing the Queen of Chaos *Ursula has entered the chat*

[@styxdragoncharon4003]

I just want you to know... I ate a burrito and drank a cup of juice... whilst watching. This didn't turn me off my lunch.

[@AJPickett]

The warning was clearly not intended for one possessed of your gastric fortitude.

[@styxdragoncharon4003]

@@AJPickett XD

[@styxdragoncharon4003]

@@AJPickett Seriously my baby sister likes talking about all kinds of foul things at the dinner table... It is a skill not a trait.

[@spoopy7336]

AJ : "You might wanna consider not drinking and eating." Me : "Polite of you, but not bloody well likely."

[@purplehaze2358]

So; Theruhzdune(?) is basically Azathoth but not completely ignorant to the world he dreams?

[@AJPickett]

Yep

[@Arius_Astronomy]

Dr. Bright I am pretty sure there are several rules that inhibit you from interacting from reality benders so don't get any ideas.

[@wobblefoot7607]

Tharizdun

[@someguy4405]

I watched this while eating pasta and was entirely unaffected. Am I an aspect of Obox-Ob?

[@AJPickett]

You sir, have the appetite of Yeenoghu

[@jeremygriffin620]

Ramen here, it was delicious.

[@XXX_xxxxxxxx]

@@jeremygriffin620 same, LOL!!!

[@pieboxer]

I knew something was up with Wonka taking us to a place of 'pure imagination'. Evil bugger that one.

[@handbananaistherapist642]

The Gods Are Forgetful And Very Far Away

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

So Tharizdun is effectively Azathoth.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

I would say so. Maybe have it so Azathoth is a physical manifestation and what we know as Tharizdun is a mental one. Or that Azathoth is where Tharizdun and Obox-ob met. That point where first contact was made and left a living taint.

[@jackdubois1512]

blimey..

[@anthonyromasco3528]

Today on epic die-roll fails... DM: Lady Jessica brings young Paul to you and tells him you are here to test him. She then leaves. What do you do? Player: I use "the Voice" and say "Now, you. Come here." DM: Roll for it. Player: I only got an 8 DM:Ok, Paul. You start to feel compelled to move, but you can choose not to. Paul's Player: i say "No". Player: ahhh! Some strength after all! I try again with the same command DM: Roll it. Player:..... I GOT A 1!!! Paul's player: I say , "Ooooh! Somebody thinks they can control minds!" Player: i try one more time. DAMMIT! ANOTHER1!!! Paul's player: I pull out a spinning hypnotist disk and say,"YOU ARE NOT A BENE GESSERIT WITCH! YOU'RE JUST A SPOOKY OLD LADY WITH A CREEPY VOICE!" Player:The sisterhood is never going to let me live THIS ONE down!

[@Izzo-io2ou]

AJ, I couldn't ever reconcile why the demons, the very embodiment of chaos (maybe second only to the Slaadi, which this would also apply to), had set forms. Now, I no longer have the reference material to research it, but I believe Hordlings are from the Abyss also; thought I have a nagging thought it might of been Hades in earlier versions, and no two looked alike. Unlike demons though, the only way to summon more then one at a time, was through a powerful artifact the name of which is lost to my memory. I always believed that random nature was truer to what demons are. Even when I played long ago, no two type whatever looked alike. Similar , yes, but never a set form. A lot of times, I just used the stats as a template, and changed the look all together. It keep players in their mail cladded toes, not "oh, look another vulture headed type 1" , but more like "what in the name Vecna's shriveled balls is that monstrosity ?!" Anyhow, this, somewhat molifies my dissatisfaction with forms, but then, where do the Hordlings fit in, and is there any reference material for them?

[@Izzo-io2ou]

Ok, I just found your Hades video, and, what do you know, Hordlings. Now, I may be incorrect, but I seem to remember reading an article on them in Dragon, claiming the Abyss as their home plane.

[@AJPickett]

Yes, one of their home planes, they are more like a side effect of the corrupted elemental forms of life.

[@temmy9]

Demons are the way they are because of the continual attempt by the multiverse to impose order on their forrms. To the demon, their forms are an obscenity, and to be free of forms, they must destroy everything. So the demon does have form, but seeks to undo that form and the only way to do that is to corrupt and annihilate the entire multiverse.

[@boldcitylongsword9941]

Was there a point where Miska lost the Domain of Spiders and Lolth collected it, or did they both rule over Spiderkind simultaneously? Lolth wasn’t a full deity when Miska was still active, so I don’t know how the domain would have been divided.

[@michaelnelson8618]

Probably happened after Lolth was cast down by Corellan...wonder how much gap there was from the imprisonment of Miska to the fall of Lolth

[@jacobfreeman5444]

Miska isn't a god. Gods have a place in reality whether it be because they were granted it or they shoehorned themselves in. Demons and Obyrinth have no place and don't want a place. Their goal is to tear reality back down to its most basic parts. So my thoughts on the matter is there was never any fighting over the domain. Lolth may have been cast into the Abyss for her treachery, having what godliness she had before stripped from her, and was more or less a demon as she had her place stripped from her...she started as a god and definitely wanted to regain that place in reality. She was just using the Abyss as a way to make that happen. So while she is quite evil she was never at heart a demon.