Dungeons and Dragons: The Unreal Market

[@AJPickett]

Yes, this video is posted for the purpose of knocking you unconscious at bedtime :)

[@braindeadgenius2]

That's exactly how I use these videos! I listen to them every night before bed and I'm pretty sure I've heard every last one of them at least twice :-) at this point I know more about D&D ecology then Earth ecology :-)

[@coreymerrill3257]

I'll definitely think this over. I don't play anymore so I can't test, but uh, you more or less get me by now lol .

[@jamesmichael5]

These are the ones I love the most

[@Greenscyth22]

Good thing I hardly sleep a wink

[@4717-b7j]

I have played your monster ecology playlist every night for the past few months it keeps my mind from wandering as I go to sleep.

[@himonearth4328]

A company that replaces a tooth with a fake one containing a small amount of the drug that brings you to the unreal market. If you're ever captured by someone or something and stripped of your gear you can break the fake tooth and trip your way into the unreal armory, where you can equip yourself with (previously agreed upon) unreal gear so you can potentially escape

[@connorb1775]

Unreal Market stale idea Shop name: Pigments and Plains An artist that runs the place can be commissioned to paint various landscapes, once finished the canvases act as portals to existing and even non existing locations. For locations which previously did not exist a demi plane is generated which matches the painting exactly. Customers purchase pieces of art for various applications, such as transportation or for a home extension. Imagine a room filled with paintings of other rooms to create a TARDIS like effect. A Brass dragon once purchanced a painting of a river for easy access to water within their desert lair, when tipped the water would pour out of the frame like a decanter of endless water. The artist will flat out refuse to paint creatures, not after last time one of his portraits of a beholder came to life and started battling to the death with the subject.

[@ChayComas]

Market idea: A large enough reflective surface where there is a creature that looks almost just like you, but different enough that you can convince yourself it is not simply a reflection. The creature will sell you something that you didn't know you needed, sometimes it is an antidote to a specific kind of poison you have not yet encountered, but will encounter, and sometimes it is advice about the future.

[@EarlZetland]

Two thoughts: A small stall, with a silken cover, advertising "Deals Made". There is a nondescript Teifling sitting there, and on discussion, it becomes apparent that he is a highly skilled daemonologist. He makes his living drafting contracts for those who would do a deal with a devil. Want to bind an imp as your familiar - not a problem - you supply the materials, and he,like a legal notary, will make sure that the contract is watertight. For a fee, of course. And a large open air canteen, run by a hag. She sells food, drink, potions, all decanted from the vast cauldron she is constantly serving. Customer 1 wants a banana daiquiri- no problems, the hag grabs a glass, and ladles out a daiquiri for them. Customer 2 would like hot lentil soup - the hag grabs a handful of lentils, sprinkle li e them into the pot,and then ladles a steaming helping into a bowl. Character 3 would like a potion of healing - the hag squints at them, grabs some more arcane ingredients, sprinkles them in, spits in the pot, and ladles out a single helping of healing potion into a small crystal bottle. Bonus marks if you can give these meals and drinks an unexpected but harmless side effect which will wear off over time. The character turns green, grows feathers over their feet, their eyes glow uncontrollably. Something like the wild magic surge table would work well for this.

[@tatsusama3192]

"Orcus, look at that guy's pupils. How degenerate to in in public in such a state!" "Why? He's probably just shopping"

[@Pielord-wp9do]

Unseen Servant shop. A place were you can find and see Unseen servants that allow you to buy one as your personal servant and a place were you can buy fancy cloths, weapons or armor that you can see in the market but not when you return back to the real world buy you somehow know that they are wearing it.

[@Pielord-wp9do]

Oh and perhaps this is where Unseen servants hang out while the spell is no longer being used and you can use this opportunity to gain information on other wizards that they've worked for before.

[@trevorh6438]

Buying the Emperors New Clothes but they actually "exist" and really can't be seen.

[@agustinvenegas5238]

I absolutely love this idea, with all this idea I'm seriously thinking about running a one shot set there lol

[@RylanBones1]

A locksmith from the city of doors, selling single-use gate keys to random locations throughout the multiverse.

[@Cuzup]

A treant butcher that sells "ethically sourced meat" that she creates with a modified version of the Clone spell. She has all manners of cuts growing inside the red clay jars that hang from her tree crown, all donated to her from informed and consenting intelligent creatures. In return for a 10% discount on their next purchase, customers can donate a liter of their own blood to the treant who uses it to create more meat. The blood is drawn by the swarm of awakened mosquitoes that buzz around the stone birdbath she always carry with her. The scourge (which is apparently what a group of mosquitoes is called) acts as the treant's assistants, bodyguards and bookkeepers.

[@mal35m]

What a great idea. I could see a Treant living in the "bad" undead section selling "ethically sourced blood" for vampires. It might trade a small fortune for a pint of blood willingly traded by someone with an exotic type of blood. For instance a virgin paladin who has a lot of Seelie Court Faerie ancestry. He also might pay a lot of cash for someone with "deep one" blood or a "high content" Tiefling with a rarer demonic ancestor. I think a clone spell might work like a copy machine so that there is a limited amount of clone blood that can be made from a single source. That would mean the Treant is always looking out for "new blood". Only the very richest of vampires can afford uncloned exotic blood.

[@mal35m]

It also occurs to me that the Treant would offer a cheap or free ancestry checks. This could lead to the "pure blood" high Elf paladin and the 1/2 orc barbarian who can't stand each other are actually related. Oh the scandal!

[@God_Forger]

The first thing I imagine seeing in the unreal market is a tavern run entirely by flumphs, with a rotating staff playing stride jazz into perpetuity

[@Christopher_Pug]

This is an amazing way to give players both an access to a permanent shopping opportunity, as well as temporary items that won't overwhelm your encounters as they can be psychically "rented out" by the shopkeepers in the Unreal Market. I am consistently amazed at how functional most of this bizarre lore can be. I love hearing about familiar creatures like Myconids in new contexts. And I love the notion of expanding their established abilities into even more amazing ones. Thank you for continuing to introduce me to versions of this game's lore I could never have imagined myself!

[@AJPickett]

Thank you!

[@rpgden4553]

Unreal Market idea: An "item" purchased in the market can continue to exist outside the market until the next time a player looses consciousness and thus "forgets" about it. That puts a new fear on being dropped to zero for higher level PCs that mo longer fear death.

[@AJPickett]

Great idea!

[@agustinvenegas5238]

Ought to be uncomfortable for the party member that bought a new outfit there 😂

[@alexanderlaplante5477]

I genuinely love the idea of a place, whether it be a simple market, or an entire dimension, that can only be interacted with when intoxicated by a particular substance. You have to imbibe said substance, allowing you to perceive this place, that's beyond the understanding of the normal mind. Filling it with everything and anything abstract and ridiculous. Right away my mind goes too a struggling adventuring party, with dwindling resources, and then the druid simply says all right give me a minute, eats a couple of strange spore pods, or licks a fungus encrusted Rock, proceeds to absolutely trip out for about 3 hours, and then reaches into his pockets and finds that he has exactly what they were looking for, and possibly some more interesting items and or beings that he did not expect to find.

[@alexanderlaplante5477]

Big banshee chapter vibes,if you haven't seen it AJ,or anyone else, give it a watch.

[@darktimber13]

I would like to submit my NPC for the communal market: Jamar Javar Jemarison Lemar, the oil salesman. He is a flamboyant oil genie who sells every type of oil based potion. He carries a large backpack displaying his wears and is always covered completely in oil.

[@GallowglassAxe]

Reminds me of Turkish wrestling.

[@CatholicDragoon]

A maze of carnival game booths each one you can play to win prizes; the games are strange with randomly changing rules. Manned by double-sided beings with manically divergent personalities, one side is an elf but when he turns around it's a dwarf, or mindflayer, or a human or any number of creatures.

[@zacharyweaver276]

A shop front called "Things you lost" it sells magic compasses capable of casting locate object if the item isn't on the same plane as you it can indicate which plane it's on unless said item is protected by anti-divination wards.

[@agustinvenegas5238]

With "things you lost" it made me think of this lost and found store in some Japanese train stations and now I'm thinking of a store where most of the items look different for everyone but are always something you lost: from the love of a parent through those cool shades you lost in Waterdeep to a bunch of receipts you've mindlessly thrown away you can buy your lost items back

[@zacharyweaver276]

@@agustinvenegas5238 Nah that's the shop three lanes down

[@chadlynch1551]

This sounds like something a psionicist could access with the right power. Also, there was a bit in 2e Ravenloft that allowed people (with the right, very rare non-weapon proficiency) to project their mind into the dreamscape of another person. Both could be a way for players to get to the market without having to do 6 hits of acid. Shadowfiends were supposed to be interested in collecting the minds/consciousness of very intelligent people. I'd imagine the market would have them as regular customers.

[@agsilverradio2225]

It sounds like the dream spell, exept the otherwise temporary dream realm it created, split off into it's own permient demiplane.

[@Scortch-lo3xy]

A spell jammer ship venue, that is housed inside the stomach of an enormous space leviathan, and ran by gigantic stomach bacteria. Selling of course, ships the massive creature has eaten...

[@AJPickett]

Stomach Jawas

[@Scortch-lo3xy]

@@AJPickett oh yes, can i get a rating out of ten for this idea?

[@SCREENDOORONSUBMARIN]

I like the idea of purchasing insubstantial things like time. Feeling stressed? Pick up a twelve-pack of days during your retirement. Work-a-day grind got you down? Try a childhood summer evening. Mechanically you could use the item to instantly experience the benefits of a short or long rest or even a period of downtime

[@warrenokuma7264]

Ah, the re-run store.

[@bitterzombie]

I like the idea of a vendor selling "Unfamiliars", whimsical pets all with a unique (usually silly or rediculous) appearance and a variety of unusual traits. This makes them perfectly suited for a specific (and also usually silly or rediculous) task, like singing or shoe shining. Though sometimes more useful tasks like stirring potions or watering seeds. They may resemble animals, but its probably more appropriate to think of them like living toys or knick-knacks. Essentially designed for single use, they will do their thing until interrupted in some way. If they are killed or their task is halted somehow, they will cease function and fall apart in a variety of interesting ways as well, before fading from existance, essentially despawning from reality. Gotta reccomend Dr Seus again for inspiration, that sort of style is perfect for this kind of realm

[@Deefry]

If the shopkeeper is a Unicorn you could call the shop "Uni Taskers".

[@warrenokuma7264]

Familiars such as talking shoes or animated candelabras or cups nad spoons.

[@eros5420]

I like the idea of the party seeing what looks like an ancient market with descicated myocids that appear dead and dried up at their stalls showing no sign of life until they trigger a hallucinatory shroom where the market comes to life. Things they buy while while high keep them when they sober up.

[@shineshadow]

Just a couple of ideas: 1. There are Posters all over town advertising a Market but without telling where it is. It only shows a knock Signal that is very complex, almost like a Symphony. Once you use it on any door it opens into the Market once no matter where it normally leads. 2. A street vendor lays unconcious in a Side alley with a sign "dont worry. If you want to buy touch my left ear" once somebody does he shrinks down so he can enter his ear and with it his Body. Inside is a huge Marketplace located inside various Organs that sells symbionts chemicals and medicins

[@webz5]

Love this might use in my upcoming Spelljammer campaign

[@shineshadow]

@@webz5 which one? Or both? I like coming up with ideas.

[@maromania7]

I actually had a market like this in my last campaign, not knowing this place existed. A magic ring, whose secrets of creation are guarded and highly valued amongst traders in the know. Spinning the ring linked the world around you to a wild market. There were a 10 options, since you asked for stalls then here's what I had. A patchwork stablemaster who sold enchanted Legs and Wings and Fins, which you could attach to an object and have it follow behind you as a loyal Int 1 creature, each leg giving half the carry weight of the creature it was once attached to (walks as quickly as the slowest appendage). If they had a monster body he would happily butcher and enchant it, in exchange for half the limbs and the rest of the body A witch whose race changes every appearance, with a little mechanical goblin assistance and nods to every previous campaign I've run scattered about. Sold exotic (but flawed) potions for cheap, like a potion of invisibility that only worked when your eyes were closed. Would sell normal potions if you brought them a monster body, or if it was magical offer a few potions with the creature's abilities (breath weapon, grow armor plating, etc) A used car salesman sort of guy who sold single use items and 'magic item dissolver', your item would be completely destroyed next round but its effect THIS round would be massively increased. a wand of magic missle exploding a hail of 24, or a lightning javelin bursting into chain lightning as it burns to ash. A scruffy gnome playing board games with a rat, they'd always walk in right as the gnome was flipping the table in rage at losing and about to fistfight the beast. He sells unusual armaments, like Glass Cannons that throw cones of fire and glass shards (like a breath weapon) but have a chance of exploding in your face, or blink-bolts that teleport you to where they land, or vampire tooth arrows that heal 1/2 of the damage they do. An hunched stone giant grandmother that ran a small tavern, but sold amazing booze and meals (food is an art). Also enchanted cooking equipment, like a wok which makes it impossible to burn your food as spirits of grandmothers and chefs bark orders at you. Also doubles as an enchanted mace, dealing an extra d6 of fire damage and instantly cooking slain creatures. The world around you opens into vibrant constellations, while a high-as-a-kite astral bullete sells items of the stars. Archer's gloves that summon arrows of starlight, chalk that lets you write in connected constellations, paintbrushes that create shimmering illusions, that sort of thing. A friendly but (seemingly) senile wizard with an endless spiraling beard and hat, folding origami chickens on the ground. Occasionally said "GOODBYE" mid sentence, stared into space a second, then reset with "HELLO, I'M A WIZARD! WOULD YOU LIKE A CHICKEN?" Sold one-time summonable creatures in the form of origami which would grow to full size when the command word was spoken and stay until killed or an hour passed. Had the same stats of thier base form despite being made of folded parchment. Party would occasionally splurge on a dinosaur to ride into big fights. A swirling whirlwind of the elements and mephits, all fighting each other to sell you enchanted items from thier plane. The prices are surprisingly fair, but there's a good chance what item is offered will change mid-transaction and you walk out with something you weren't looking for. A shrewd drake the size of a housecat on a massive mound of gold. its items are cheap, and sometimes have incredible effects, but require components on each use. Somehow the component is always coins or gems, taken directly from your coinpurse something the dragon insists is purely coincidental. You know it's grifting you, but it's hard to pass up 70% off wands! I gave it a special item too, Hoard Plate. Platemail that makes you resist everything except psychic damage, but you lose 1 silver per minute while worn, and gold equal to half the taken damage (after resistance). if not carrying gold however, it halves your speed and gives vulnerability to everything but psychic instead. My 10th slot had two random shops float into the same area. You get nice interactions, and savvy players can try to play them off each other for discounts.

[@Menzobarrenza]

This all sounds completely awesome. Well done.

[@alecsaunders6523]

A beholder ophthalmologist who offers magical eye transplants.

[@llewelynshingler2173]

Transplants from rival beholders?

[@warrenokuma7264]

@@llewelynshingler2173 or it has a ring of regen on one of his eyestalks.

[@tymiranda9278]

I'm thinking of a massive chicken that sells eggs, witch when brought to the material plane hatches into a perfect familiar for the characters equal in temperament and personality

[@mal35m]

That is a great idea especially for a character who thinks they are a great person but are actually really awful. Like a very self-righteous bigoted paladin or a "brave" powerful barbarian who only picks on weaker beings or a charismatic rogue who is always back stabbing other party members.

[@MrStressie]

I dreamed up a strange magic item that would be right at home here. It's a green single piece robe which is covered in living goblin noses. It is light armor with the protection of leather at the cost of lowering the charisma of anyone wearing it. It can also cast spiderweb once per day as a spell like ability by saying the activation word "achoo".

[@AJPickett]

Should have a matching Toilet Plunger made of ears that creates a Grease effect, and Slippers made of tongues, that can create Evard's Black Tentacles.

[@BlackKing_9]

I literally created a small village of fungal folk yesterday - blessed be your upload, you are a king AJ!

[@aubreyackermann8432]

Fae selling and buying nicknames- not enough to control or harm, but still strong enough to manipulate or track

[@AJPickett]

perfect, who are these Fae, what sort of fairy tale are their fates bound to? What does this venue look like? What are the prices and currency accepted?

[@aubreyackermann8432]

This is a very small being, maybe the size of a halfling child, who has a big personality and lots of energy. They use big words and speak very quickly, bouncing precariously around between step stools and little ladders. They constantly look like they're about to fall as their arms gesture wildly through the air. The booth itself is a patchwork of different styles with vibrantly labeled jars and urns holding the names. The stall has walls and a roof of fabric, but the type, color, and print seem to warp and shift every time the vendor speaks. One minute it's red and blue shot silk satin, the next a patchwork quilt with worn seams. Then you blink, and the windows are gone and the roof has transformed from a sagging flat affair to a tight cone of green and pink striped twill. When a nickname is sold, an empty jam jar comes off a shelf behind a curtain. The seller whispers the nickname into the jar and seals the lid, causing the jar to transform to match the contents. A childhood nickname from a beloved parent might look like a child's cup used for painting, rounded and vibrant yellow with little fingerprints in the smudgy paint. A pet name from an ex lover may form a perfume bottle with leaking fragrance. A backhanded mispronunciation by a bully may look like a vial of foul tasting medicine labeled "results may vary, use at own discretion". Vases of seashells, cracked and glued heirloom bowls with wax cloth over the top, turned wood cups and crystal decanters, hollowed gourds... Every conceivable style of container can be seen crammed into the shelves in the back of the stall.

[@aubreyackermann8432]

@@AJPickett the creature has no nicknames, having put even the vaguest of titles into jars. "The vendor", "the collector", "the little guy"- a thousand nicknames cultivated and captured, until even pronouns don't stick to the being. The only way to refer to the fey at this point is to mention the nickname stall and imply someone or something works there. It's a strange sensation to have one's brain refuse to think a word, even stranger for it to refuse to form a concept at all, but this bothers very few of the potential clientele given their mental state. I think the being has done this intentionally to hide from something. Maybe they made a deal they regret, or owe favors to a court power. They couldn't hide as long as that power knew them, so they had to find a way to no longer exist. All this creature's names and titles are hidden among the others, jarred and jumbled on the shelves. Even the fairy can't recall who they are or what they're hiding from, but the fear remains. Should you sell a nickname to this vendor, expect to be paid in curious ways. Sometimes it's a straight trade of one nickname for another. You select a vessel from the shelf, hoping it will suit your purposes. More often it's chosen for you after a hard stare and a bit of muttering by the trader. Perhaps you wanted something sweet and unique to call a new romantic prospect, or you came in search of identity- whatever it was, you're never sure whether you found it. If you're looking for more liquid assets, you might be paid in colorful pebbles, dry leaves, or bits of broken glass. Under moonlight they look like gemstones, gold coins, or crystals- but remember, the illusion won't hold up under tight scrutiny, as doubt can make them start to turn back as surely as the sunlight.

[@Tomrash]

This could also (in a slightly modified way) work for a MTG Planeswalking campaign: The players are so high that they instinctively planeswalk to the plane that holds the unreal market. Once the drugs wear of, the shock of being clear again makes them planeswalk back to where they started. Planeswalkers can only ever find that plane while on drugs, even after already having visited it once.

[@AdamBoozer]

Me, me, and I went to the Market by accident after going to the Fey Wild to party with some faerie dragons getting cloned twice sharing our ultimate existence through a hive mind matrix. We sold all our memories of ice cream to a fire giant to reconstitute. After getting back there was only me there.

[@AJPickett]

Sounds about right :)

[@elenorefangirl3389]

An Ursinal descended Aasimar doing tarot card readings. The cards themselves are five tall (think of the duel disc from Yugioh) and when flipped the images on the card move of their own volition.

[@neurolancer81]

This is an older video but my players will be going to this market in the first session of them coming back. You have provided so much inspiration for my games. Thank you!.

[@AJPickett]

you are most welcome

[@willynthepoorboys2]

Picture yourself on a train in a station With plasticine porters with looking glass ties Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes Thanks for the video.

[@tonyoliver4920]

Reminds me of the goblin market in changing Where none of the prices make sense and you always pay more than you expect

[@SassyXan]

And obviously cloud giants are the most likely to make it on this plane of existence, the grung toad tripping reference was also perfect

[@herddragon9215]

thanks for the video heres a list of random ideas for things to find in the market. -a bunch of tiny leather dragons .they have breath weapons but do 1d4 of what ever damage type and any other damage they do is only one damage. -paper cranes that grant minor boons or healing but if you collect a hundred of them they can grant a wish, a wish that usually only affects things in the far realms and the market itself. -backwards and upside down mirrors. -flesh doctors that alter the way you look with one touch. -curtains that yell insults or compliments at passerby's usually in a language they cant understand -tiny books full of living drawings. -small spheres that are encased in glass and contain what appereas as an entire planet with its moons inside. -terraforming services. of course instead of terraforming some other planet they come and terraform your planet to suit them. -flaming trashcans. -hats and masks that alter your vision. or perhaps that allow you to stretch your limbs in odd ways. -people with strangely proportioned bodies of any fantasy race. -walk-ways full of patrons that are just, upside down. -books that appere to be other books but are in fact food. -small bottels with tiny beasts and monstrosites in them. the creature dose not need food or water in the bottle. -weapons that look and feel real but if you try to use them it turns out they are rudder and generally harmless. -instrument with wings that play music on their own as they float by, apperes to be sentient. - rabbit merchants, they often sell clocks (sometimes melting sometimes not.) other-times selling moon cakes, other-times selling strange potions and things. - a golden ticket, this ticket says admittance one and allows its holder to enter a place they would normally not be able to enter. be it a locked door or a party with a private invite only list. some places have enchantments to prevent the use of these tickets. -long winding hallways that just seem to go on, and on and on. - teeth, just teeth, whole booths that sell teeth.

[@AJPickett]

Whew! Excellent, thanks Herd Dragon

[@destonlee2838]

Kuotoa operate a tattoo parlor ownd by an abolethe. The tattoos offered grant demigoddlike powers but require fulfillment of geas or quest from the abolethe lest pne become a slave eather than a pawn.

[@GomorrahVT]

Anyone else get reminded of "spirited away" it seems like a cool way to make a space michonid boathouse work in speel jammer no?

[@AJPickett]

Sure does!

[@eros5420]

I would make one of the shop keepers a friendly pseudohydra candyman. Still play up how creepy he is. With red goo dripping from his money but its just some of the candy he is selling.

[@mal35m]

This kind of reminds me of the virtual market in the SCI-FI movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

[@AJPickett]

Very much so!

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

And startrek discovery:)

[@mckenziejohnston6666]

How about a vender that sells tongue, but not the actual body part. Instead it allows the buyer to taste things differently. They could be a human and swap their tongue with that of a dwarf and see what food and things taste like to a dwarf. Or swap with a mindflayer's tongue and see why they like brains so much. It would only last for a day and allow the user to be able to digest whatever creature who's tongue they swapped with. This could even work with sentient constructs and grant them the ability to taste for that day. Imagine if you will, a warfogred who now can taste the hood humans seem to rave about, but it can only last for a day. Now the warforged is addicted to taste and constantly seeks ways to return to the Unreal Market just to buy another tongue for one more day.

[@AJPickett]

Great idea

[@gravityman5319]

An Idea for a merchant/vendor Granzor, a pale Shadow Elf with an eyepatch wearing a leather apron, Granzor is a Necroleather worker, making wears from the rotted leathers of the undead, and selling semi-undead pieces of leather armor. For a example a leather shoulder guard that is part of the chest and shoulder of a zombie with a small head attached, while worn the userlooks like they have a head growing from their shoulder and can cause the head to animate to move about and make minor vocalizations. A piece of Zombie hide armor may give you resistances against being poisoned or giving you the stench trait of a Troglodyte. Granzor while creepy in appearance and mannerisms is overly friendly with potential customers, especially those who aren't edgy monster lords.

[@DungeonDad]

This is giving me some great inspiration for a Spelljammer locale.

[@AJPickett]

*bows* Only the finest artisanal inspiration for you Sir.

[@maxmaulwurf3085]

a currency exchange service, where for a small fee you can enlist a fairie dragon to accompany you to a stand. there the dragon will take the currency you have and exchange it to whatever the seller wants. great video as always!

[@reifuTD]

What if the Unreal Market works like Inception and it has layers? like if you when to go to the next layer of the Unreal Market you buy drugs and use them while in Unreal Market and you go deeper in it. In theory you could find any item you think of in the market but sometimes you need go deeper and deeper to find it or to have to come to you. But like Inception the deeper you go the more dangerous it gets and risk having a bad trip and have unintentional things show up to accost you, like the manifestation of lost lover and other regrets, or your worst nightmare come alive. If you not carful these manifestations might latch on to you and appear in the real world like Freddy Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street can if you are holding him when you wake.

[@AJPickett]

But of course.

[@johnarnold8485]

I was literally about to send my party to an Alice in Wonderland-esque magical island on their Odyssey style journey. This fit so perfectly and fills me with ideas.

[@jackvanderlugt6264]

I'm about to run a 5e spelljammer campaign, and this is a perfect concept to throw at my players! Thanks AJ!

[@AJPickett]

My pleasure, let your players know I said "High". :)

[@kentmyrtle9315]

How about a red light district populated with ghosts and spectres? "You can look, but you can't touch."

[@AJPickett]

LOL, nice... finally somewhere safe to take the Bard.

[@RobertWilliams-of5bu]

A stall that sells glass like crystal stones that summons a ghostly npc ally that is a copy of a person from a great battle or historical event when the stone is shattered (the broken shards just dissipate into harmless light that quickly disappear)

[@RobertWilliams-of5bu]

Temporarily of course

[@mattnerdy7236]

Good morning AJ, this is a great way to start the day! It's to early for me to think. As the story unfolded, I kept thinking of, Alice in Wonderland, The Little's, A bug's Life and that old school Gnome Master Illusionists, he or she would definitely live here. I enjoyed the part where you flipped the artwork from serious and realistic to spacey and cartoonie. Nice touch, I really felt like I was there. Thanks AJ, you have a wonderful day!

[@coryclutterham5858]

A plushie mushroom man, if you stroke its head while thinking about someone, a telepathic bond is made with that person as the plushie gives birth to a mushroom avatar of that person that is treated like a summoned creature, but has the personality of the original. Any subsequent strokes of the plushie, will cause the current one to explode in a harmless cloud of spores as a new one is summoned.

[@trevorh6438]

Aranae selling hand-knit silk sweaters and tapestries, fine quality. Little spider helpers doing embroidery and beanie hats. Pay in copper only at double price, and Phase Spiders will weave reality threads with feets that give the item wearer-possessor a feat. 5% chance of getting a random personal demiplane instead of a feet. Bowls of I Scream served for free. Electrum commission to choose what kind of designs you want on your new item. Other silk products including magic items available by request.

[@charlylimph]

A stall where a fey creature buys and sells memories of sunsets.

[@walterhaider869]

wholesome.

[@charlylimph]

@@walterhaider869 You think so? It will pay handsomely for when you were young and in love, on the beach, kissing for the first time. The sweeter the fruit of emotion the more the fey will pay.

[@aubreyackermann8432]

Vampires make for regular customers

[@walterhaider869]

@@aubreyackermann8432 that's extra wholesome.

[@AJPickett]

Excellent.

[@absolutegamer7156]

A shop run by an incomprehensible being outside space and time that sells absolutely crazy stuff like shoes made of butter that let you move faster by sliding

[@kmg9763]

A place where you can buy yourself. If you're a slave in any world or reality, or if you've sold your soul to a Devil or Demon. You can have yourself back, and became free. But I have no Idea what currency would be accepted.

[@aubreyackermann8432]

A couple years off your lifespan per self, but they only sell as a package deal and you aren't told how many selves you're buying

[@AJPickett]

Could be soul coins, could be memory diamonds from the Astral sea, could be forbidden spell components, lost ritual scrolls, rare and endangered species, etc.

[@esbeng.s.a9761]

The pay is a favor, or they give you a weapon who sends any kill by it to hell and if you don't do it, then it will kill you

[@trevorh6438]

You have to sell an addiction, Or buy with f**ts.

[@lysander9957]

What hits you first is the smell. An almost physical barrier of rank, fetid, sickly-sweet stink assaults your senses, threatening to send you running for the nearest bucket... And yet, against all odds, your mouth begins to water, and your stomach growls. You stumble towards the source and are met with bubbles, drifting from an open window of a building marked simply: CHEESE. You open the door to see an elderly man with white hair that is singed at the ends and wearing a hat that is clearly just a plate of Limburger, toiling over a vat of soapy water. Carefully he lifts a large bubble from the vat and brings it to a spigot under a barrel marked "Gorgonzola", and begins to fill it with a slightly yellow, swirling gas. Once it is full, he slips in a bay leaf, and releases it, allowing the bubble to float idly to its spot on a shelf with other bubbles filled with their own mixtures. You reach out and grab one, finding that the bubble does not pop in your grasp. You bring it up to your face and accidentally touch your nose to the bubble, where it pops instantly, and the released gas rushes into your nose. The incredible stink causes you to panic before you see a vision of yourself falling into the soapy vat. You catch yourself, and discover that you have just prevented yourself from doing just that. A moment of prescience, granted by cheese. These stinky bubbles replicate a divination spell when popped on the nose. They are quite sturdy, and refuse to pop otherwise. The types of cheese and other ingredients determine the spell that is cast.. The man will trade his bubbles for amounts of mercury, or pieces of flail snail shell. Failing those, he will charge triple the cost of a comparable scroll in gemstones. But not diamonds. He doesn't like them.

[@derskalde4973]

So, the owner practices some kind of Tyromancy, the noble Art of divining the Future through cheese.

[@Deefry]

What a place to store a phylactery! Imagine everyone being resigned to Szass Tam's dictatorship because "his phylactery is not real" (maybe after the party is thoroughly disappointed after clearing the Doomvault) and the players have to venture into a seedy Dreammist den to seek the market and barter for the lich's soul.

[@AJPickett]

Excellent idea!

[@jarodhuckabay5546]

I am thinking about stuff from old Disney movies like dumbo and Winnie the Pooh. A parade of pink elephants for example.

[@joshuazane3210]

Tripping on hallucinogens and seeing a bunch of neogi sounds like an absolutely horrifying experience.

[@SassyXan]

Fantasy pet shop that essentially functions like Pokémon or neo Pets: the pets aren’t real unless the player is on the unreal market. Your character can have a other unreal magical Tamagotchi and people sharing the same trip will occasionally trade with each other to collect certain fantasy pets (your tiefling friend has an impressive cute aberration minagerie while your half elf twin friends are having their anime style blink dogs race.

[@WallyDM]

That ambiance in the background was trippin. Didnt know where I was for over 10 minutes. What a fantastic world. Seems like something inspired by the 70s.

[@AJPickett]

Makes sense, I was made in the early 70's after all.

[@Winters-Green]

Xorn taxi service/lift operator that takes individuals to a deeper layer of the market, deeper you go the darker theatre of the wares are and the Xorn warns this that the Player's might not want to see what's lower down Simple gemstone for a return chip or a coin of a metal for a single trip

[@coreyeaston6823]

Having never 'tripped out' this is a fantastic idea never the less.

[@draygonsol7863]

It would be a cool if it was in the Far Realms. So in the distance one may see absolutely impossible creatures but be protected by this strange pocket of chaotic stability made by the myconids.

[@MWhaleK]

Sounds a lot like the Bazaar at Deva, from Robert Asprin's MythAdventures series, a worldwide round-the-clock flea market which sells every conceivable magical device and artifact.

[@aviongris4233]

Nail polish that applies a mouth like pattern to the nail its put on. Allows one to speak and perform the verbal components of a spell through the nail. Specifically designed to allow for creatures with mouths unconducive to speech to meet the requirements for spells with verbal components. The nail polish smells like mouth wash and is a light pink in color.

[@AJPickett]

weird and brilliant

[@brendan-kfp7.62mmminigun4]

A pile of what might be a tarp or a coat lies at the side of the path. It looks to be held up by poles like a towel draped over a particularly bald hedgehog. As you start to pass it moves slightly and a voice in your head says "Information? Hard to aquire trinkets? Someone you want to not see anymore? This one can provide." The tarp peals back to reveal a smooth black elongated head, lipless fangs, and a black almost skeletal physique as a literal Xebomorph unfurls itself before you. It's posture is relaxed and it cocks it's head to the side. Strapped to its skull, with some form of adhesive tape, is clearly a Headband of Intellect. This vendor seems to be more of a task-based service provider. Long sticky saliva slowly falls from its open mouth as it awaits your response.

[@henryknepp]

Encountering the echo of a dead and forgotten god, gives you a quest to resurrect it from the asteral plane. Might be good might be evil. Perfect premise for a epic Campaign.

[@AJPickett]

That is a very. very difficult thing to do.

[@DEricTodd]

Oh man, your 'thought experiment' eps are my favorite. And yes, listening to your stuff at bedtime is the perfect way to imagine myself off to sleep.

[@ShizaruBloodrayne]

*uses a wish spell to make the unreal market real

[@jackryan529]

Modron fractal art gallery in conflict with a surrealist flumphs across the street

[@AJPickett]

Excellent!

[@freakyskull516]

the fun part is this can actually be made to work in lore this is what the space between the ethereal plane and the plane of dreams could be like or even this could be the raw plane of dreams when you arent in a particular dream just in the jumbled mess of all of them at once the items instead of the weird inert plasticy stuff are thick goop inside that quickly evaporates into mist that disappears when broken/used lumps of protomatter contained in a shell of dreamy subreality

[@bigsarge2085]

A Chrono-dragon, censured by the gods for excessive meddling, escaped to the Ethereal and created a black market for legitimate memory echoes of unique items, creatures, places, and even sentient beings, that don't actually exist yet on any of the planes!

[@fuzzyzombielove]

That poor hollyphant. Quickly, someone get it to the taxidermist!

[@cernunnos_lives]

I keep going back to listening about the Underdark and other episodes on strange settings. I particularly enjoyed your understanding about Demons, Devils, and Aberrations. You really nail it with your explanations. This stuff isn't easy to put in a manner that is enticing to even a logical person .

[@AJPickett]

Thank you.

[@mutonfuton]

I think a venue of sentient musical instruments who are also slave traders who stalk and capture musicians from across the multiverse to sell them to wealthy merchant kings and lords would be interesting. They could have all sorts of strange musicians like Fire Giant Synth musicians, Lizardfolk Jazz singers, Folk Punk Ghouls, those weird musicians that keep Azathoth asleep (implying the musicians disrupted Azathoth's dreams and ended a reality for a quality product) and just random alternate dimension versions of musicians from Earth, like Lady Gaga with 5 heads. In addition any bard characters or players with any musical interest would be appraised by the instruments and will try to barter with the party to buy that character. And I think they'd would be like the Western Hiver Merchants from Kenshi who constantly bug and follow the party until they trade with them. Some out-of-venue flavor could be that you can see these sentient musical instruments all over the Unreal Market advertising and instigating fights when they see a particular musician they'd like to get their hands on. Edit: definitely going to try and run a mini-campaign in the Unreal Market, seems like it would be a pretty chaotic and fun little experience

[@mikoajlewicki9512]

Just make a shop with good old norse mythology materials like idk voice/breath of fish, sound of cat's steps, beard of a woman, roots of a mountain, you know sound of silence, spirit of nothing, smell/taste of a colour/event kinda stuff, and some workshops that make stuff out of those, in such a way that it feels like it sort of kinda makes sence. Oh an a shop with unmovable rods of various shapes sizes and material/ or just a vendor that can turn any thing into unmovable rod if you supply him with said thing sth like "sound of silence" and some sort of payment

[@UpperCasePVP]

You round the corner, past lantern cages filled with fire whispering "come, come, here, here, that way, yes". Following the strange talking flames direction, you come upon a small soup stall manned by a grotesquely large lobster. Hundreds of its young cling to its stomach singing a soft melody filled song with no discernable lyric. The lobster beckons you in and offers a bowl of a rather delicious looking lentil soup. The price, listen to his stories as you eat. At the end of the meal he asks two questions, at first he asks about his story to confirm you listened, if you answer correctly he then asks if you would take one of his young with you and show him the world before returning him within one months time. Should you agree, you bring the small lobster creature with you, it follows your command (or doesn't!) but likes to sing in inconvenient situations, often it's melody matching the mood from romance to chase scenes or even as you stealth through caves and hollows.

[@Whitewizardofwater]

I love this... It's amazing

[@SeraphimKnight]

I like it! It's the stoner's Sigil 😁 I always liked myconids in settings you don't expect. I've been toying with making a character that's a myconid circle of spores druid. After his entire circle was murdered or enslaved by fomorians, he fell into the worship of Zuggtmoy and decided that the only way to instore world peace was to implant mind-controlling spores into the brains of every living thing. He'd be selling his spores as an illicit drug that produces intense euphoria upon inhalation. Not sure whether he's a good or bad guy yet. 🤔 As for the society at the end of the video, it might be worthwhile to check out for inspiration the lore behind the Trygalle Trade Guild from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series since they are pretty similar in ideology to what was presented here.

[@crystalclyr]

A store/venue between the legs of a giraffe-like thing, when the giraffe moves the store swings from side to side as it is hanging from this jovial creature’s stomach

[@josephparent7690]

The Unreal Market as a representation of collective unconsciousness....

[@philurbaniak1811]

👍👍Somewhere where "we can remember it for you wholesale" might do well 🤷🏼‍♀️ Maybe the many baskets of spices of every hue except they're not spices, they're memories? A pinch of this, a dusting of that; a cruise in a snuff box. I hope I don't get my memories confiscated going through Customs! 👍😁

[@CheerfuEntropy]

you have made this mushroom farmer very happy

[@AJPickett]

I am but a simple Nurf Herder.

[@Guy_makes_thing]

Oops, on a roll now. 😁 Fantaseed: A fist sized seed, brown in color with bue-ish veins on it's surface pulsating with a faint light. When you plant this seed you keep in mind the one thing you wish to harvest from the tree, which can be a creature, item or even a idea, creatures and objects have to fit in a 5 ft cube. The possibilities are ofcourse something to be discussed with the dm. Upon planting and watering the seed immediately sprouts and within a week it grows up to 50 feet, after which it bears a single fruit which contains that what the player wished for. After this the tree continues growing untill it reaches about 80 feet in height and it sprouts 2 inch long thick conical thorns on is trunk. In the trees canopy some sort of light blue flying monkeys live, they are the size of a cat and can't go further than 60 ft from the tree before blinking out of existence. Once a year the tree blossoms, it will bear 6 ft long clusters of iridescent blue flowers, that give of a faint light in the night, sleeping under the flowering tree is said to have unpredictable effects. After flowering it fruits, the fruits are dropped and only one fruit contains a new seed, which will only germinate if given to someone else by the finder.

[@VerityAran]

Edit: what i meant to say is; this is amazing and so inspiring on its own. Thanks AJ Also… We (me, myself, and I) need this whole thing to be remixed into a psychedelic techno beat song. One of those ones thats like 40 minutes long.

[@AJPickett]

If that happens, I want to hear it.

[@VerityAran]

@@AJPickett i have no idea how to make that happen. I just have a powerful need. 😅 i would totally throw money at an artist though. Like one of those cats that do those lofi beat mixes or something.

[@billwhipple9039]

It looks like the side of a head where the door is the ear and as you enter the venders are selling thoughts. Not physics or anything, just thoughts. Kind of like seeing someone else's experiences by looking at their brain through their ear

[@tavorzaalelkazam]

I can just imagine an old red dragon selling lighters made of its fire. On a failed use item check the lighter expolodes.

[@pheralanpathfinder4897]

This sounds like a great side quest when some players can't make a game session

[@AngelusAnsell]

This was a refreshing change-up. Fun concepts and ways to play around with the setting, from you, are just as enjoyable and even (somewhat) educational as your monster ecologies. I wouldn't mind some more along this vein.

[@xipietotec]

A drug I came up with for an old dnd game: Planar Etherium, (AKA Plan-E) if you do one line it just lets you see into the ethereal plane, two lines is a roll on the wild magic table, three lines in quick succession will teleport you to the ethereal plane. Good luck getting back.

[@judgecurran7289]

Can I use this ?

[@xipietotec]

@@judgecurran7289 for sure friend ^_^

[@kevinedwards8451]

I have a business in my game that buys and sells memories. A person buying gets a small crystal shard that corresponds to a skill (different colored sparks brighter for higher bonuses) and grants a +1 to +4 to the skill for a short time 1 hour as you get a rush of memories of someone (who donated the memories) training in a skill and using it floods into the user's mind and eventually fade, but for a time you have someone else's memories argumenting your skills. Selling would provide a penalty for each point temporarily drained equal to the bonus sold. The penalty would fade at a rate of 1 point per day.

[@Telenaus]

there needs to be a "candy" store, that carries everything that could be candy, rock "sugar" stick? nope the crystals from a geode, candy coated jerky made from different species, is that sugar syrup? nope it some form of snot,, that green soda pop? gelatinous cubes remains so on & so forth lol

[@AJPickett]

excellent

[@Greshgore]

"Just contemplating that they exist, and the Multiverse is pretty cool." Then the myconids get the brilliant idea to sell some of that space Indica they grow LOL

[@destonlee2838]

I love this channel. Thanks for the invite to contribute to the market. A small stone building clearly gnomish in origin. The marquis says simply, "Umpleys" . Inside it is a gymnasium filled with stone block and chain contraptions, anvils with hammers of various sizes, and a dozen or so jacked gnomes (str. 18/00+) all working out. Turns out Umpley is a gnome cleric his gig is rather like that of a physical therapist. When gnomes hurt themself at the forge clerics take them to the myconids to do physical therapy and get healed up. So the gnomes here are typically 4-10lvl fighters, clerics and illusionists. Fun thing. If an injury reduces a gnomes intelligence, eg., They read a tomee of befuddlement the exercises prescribed at Umpleys heal that as well. Stay at Umpleys long enough and you'll meet Buldge Umpley, a level 14 cleric who works closely with the myconids to operate his clinic and provide universal healthcare. They is no charge at Umpleys, but clients are given a package of mycelial spores to distribute according to instructions relayed during Umpleys exit interview. Typically this is something like, find a forest of oak, ash and fir. Approach the edge. When the wind blows into the tree, empty this pouch into that wind. This will cause 2d6 trees to waken into treants and pacify monsters in the forest for 2 miles radius for 24 hours, etc.

[@johngleeman8347]

Ye gods this whole video was one seraphic description after another. The etheric echoes idea is superb. Thank you AJ.

[@AJPickett]

Seraphic: beautiful in a way that suggests that someone is morally good and pure. Well thanks I guess :)

[@johngleeman8347]

@@AJPickett I apologize if I made it sound weird. I try to use archaic and underused words where I can. Fresh synonyms for "beautiful" are hard to come by. I'm fond of ethereal, but I feel I've been overusing that one lately.

[@AJPickett]

@@johngleeman8347 Just know that I will bust out that Princess Bride meme about the use of the word Inconceivable. ;D

[@drakoxion]

A filigree bell made of shining Mithral jingled as Spencer cautiously opened the door leading into the Prismatic Toyhouse. He stepped over the threshold and found himself in a grotto of glowing green rock. Emeralds studded the uneven walls burning with spectral fire alongside shelves of polished brass shaped to follow the contours of the grotto upon which were displayed the Toyhouses’ many wares. Spencer felt a sense of disorientation as he came fully inside the grotto, letting the front door close firmly behind him. From the outside the Toyhouse took on the appearance of a many tiered ziggurat of multicoloured crystal, nestled between the edible troll stall and Pickman’s Flying Shoggoth Circus, located in a sequestered quarter of the Unreal Market. The disorientation quickly passed, and his attention was drawn to the shelves and the many toys that were on offer. Elegant marionettes, brightly coloured, danced and capered near his elbow, while velvet eyed Fossergrims applauded. A clockwork hippogriff flew in lazy circles near the ceiling of the grotto, a sable furred teddy bear took tea with a four headed androsphinx and upon a chess set carved from lapis lazuli playing pieces that perfectly resembled living halflings and orcs engaged in savage battle. Other curiosities crammed the shelves; kitten headed ballerinas, bright pink unicorns that puffed ochre smoke from their nostrils, a rocking pegasi of sky blue enamel, biplanes with snarling dragon faces painted on them, megaraptors balancing rubber balls on their snouts and a myriad other distractions and playthings that jostled each other for Spencer’s attention. He moved further into the salesroom, unsure what to do next. The thing he had come here for was not on display, not that he had ever expected it to be. “Good afternoon sir,” a voice like liquid silk spoke from behind him. “How may I assist you today?” Spencer spun round in alarm and came face to face with the Toymaster himself, the owner of this establishment. He was a tall, imposing man, clad in voluptuous robes of black silk tied at the waist with a wide red sash. His narrow, sharp featured face was porcelain white with thin ink black lips set into a serene smile. Upon his head he wore a red Mandarin hat with gold trim and his deep set eyes were swirling vortexes of scintillating rainbow lights. Spencer’s voice caught in his throat as he took in the Toymaster. With wraith like grace, the Toymaster glided past him towards his many creations. “Something for your little ones, perhaps?” he said gesturing to a sprawling steam wrapped train set that looked like the fever dream of a dwarven engineer, before tapping the bright green nose of a rag doll with fairy wings which fluttered from its shelf to perch on Spencer’s shoulder. “I don’t want trinkets,” Spencer said roughly, batting the rag doll away. The Toymaster narrowed his strange eyes. “No, I didn’t think so,” he said in a knowing voice. “What do you want?” “I need . . . one of your Slaughter Dolls,” Spencer replied, his voice taut. The Toymaster’s serene smile stayed fixed in place. “You have sufficient payment?” Hesitantly, Spencer opened the pouch hanging from his belt and took out a small dark gemstone. He placed it in the Toymaster’s gloved palm. Staring intently at the gem, the Toymaster gestured absently towards the door to the Toyhouse with his other hand and it bolted shut, locking him and Spencer inside. The midnight blue sapphire started to pulse and glow and within a few moments a hazy image appeared within its depths. The image solidified, taking the flickering form of an elf child, her frightened eyes staring out of the gemstone. “Help me,” her tiny voice pleaded. “Please, help me!” Spencer clenched his hands making them into fists, too ashamed to look at the trapped soul within the gem. The poor wretch had been smuggled out of the soul horde of Prince Orcus himself, specifically for this transaction with the Toymaster, and Spencer had yearned to shatter the soul gem and free the girl, but too many lives depended on him obtaining the Toymaster’s help. Raw hunger twisted the Toymaster’s face as he listened to the child’s cries. The many hues of his rainbow eyes had turned blood red. Spencer glared at him in repulsion, wanting to snatch the gem away from the monster and free the girl. But he did not, and he despised himself for it. All of a sudden, the image disappeared and the gem went dark. The Toymaster swiftly slipped it into the folds of his robes. The rainbow patterns in his eyes returned as did his serene smile. “The payment is satisfactory,” he said pleasantly to Spencer. “Let us go down my workshop and discuss the matter further.” He made an expansive gesture towards the shelves and a bedraggled looking teddy bear with tufts of greying fur missing stirred into life. The teddy bear climbed with slow and creaky movements down to the floor and waddled over to them. As Spencer watched, the teddy bear’s stitched mouth slowly opened and widened impossibly large while the rest of its body began to shrink. Soon, the mouth was large enough for both him and the Toymaster to easily fit through and inside the toy was a roughly hewn tunnel with a flight of stone steps that stretched downwards into murky darkness. “After you, sir,” the Toymaster said politely.

[@enigma2541]

Maybe it fits maybe not but In a tiny dark corner of the market is a colorful tent red orange and yellow with an alluring yellow light emanating from the open flap of its entrance. Inside you can hear joyus laughter of crowds and inside you find a circus but not just any circus a circus ran by Rakshasa and its minions. They sell many mundane trinkets and an assortment of magical items. But be careful when volunteering to be part of the Ringleader Rakshasas magical act who knows what could happen.

[@brenty6813]

Ok I like the idea of hallucinating to get to this market but everyone's psyche is different so whenever they go there they change the market in some way. For instance maybe the fighter is afraid of drowning so when he goes there the sky looks like it's under water, or maybe the druid really likes wildflowers so when she gets there flowers start popping up in weird spots like growing out of the glass of a window or just floating in midair. Do these changes effect everyone else? Can others even see them? Who knows they aren't real, but they are real and completely interactive to those who's psyche conjured them. I also like the idea of a nondescript stall being run by a night hag that only sells hallucinations. Why might the pcs that are hallucinating want to start tripping in a trip, well to go to the unreal real market kinda like inception. Each time a pc starts tripping inside of a market it could give off psychic energy as the character gets closer to the core of their being. Maybe they forgot something that was important to them deep down inside and they have to get to their core to get this memory back. The catch being the night hag who runs this stall and all other subsequent stalls is collecting this psychic energy the pcs give off to use for her nefarious goals. So it will kinda be like they have to give up something to regain something, and maybe the pcs might go to far with their trip within a trip that they give up too much psychic energy that the night hag eventually gains control of them.

[@johansmallberries9874]

Interesting concept, the organic neural network matrix. DMT users have often report seeing helpful yet mysterious “DMT elves” during their trips, so I’m amused by the idea that they’re accidentally jacking into a mythical mycodin market.

[@AJPickett]

I've watched a fair few Joe Rogan podcasts on the topic and yeah, fungus are very interesting indeed.

[@warrenokuma7264]

Maaybr the miconids are doing body mods.