Star Spawn Are D&D's Final Bosses

[@clericofchaos1]

It's always fun to throw in an anti-party. Doesn't matter if it's a crew like this or evil npc's with player levels. It's just fun to watch how it all plays out.

[@PlanetMuncherK888]

Star spawn are relatable. Who doesn’t feel like a incomprehensible cosmic evil every once and a while

[@Danothyus1]

its kinda amazing how much they cooked with the star spawns as a group fighting together, while there are a bunch of monsters who should be able to synergize with other creatures but don't have shit.

[@benthomason3307]

fun fact: the star spawn were actually originlly written in an episode of dragon magazine specifically to showcase how much potential there is in writing monsters to synergize with eachother.

[@sunlightsage2982]

I had a group of star spawn using hulks as a form of long-range communication. They would line up their severed, magically-preserved heads in really long rows, and would deal a little psychic damage to the nearest one. The psychic damage would gradually bounce along the lines of hulks almost instantly, and served as super long-range communication that didn’t require telepathy.

[@Breadcutter]

This reminds me of a player that made an 8-bit computer using magic mouth

[@emmawrites4533]

A fun thing I like to do is have 2 Brutes within range of eachother's physic blast effect, which because of how the rules seem to work would ping pong the damage back and forth until everything in either of their range dies, continuing until they are forced by the players out of eachother's aoe. This will also require foreshadowing that yes, everything within range dies, and no, there is no way to defend yourself unless you're immune to brain hurt damage.

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

I sometimes hate how dnd the dnd is

[@erens208]

Crawford actually tweeted on that and said the damage can only trigger once

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

@erens208 cool. Why didn't they include such clarifications into something easier to find. Sorry for the grumble

[@emmawrites4533]

@@erens208 shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shut up

[@Eisenbrei]

That causes an infinite damage loop that overloads the universe and blows up reality itself!

[@ShurikenSean]

I love death in disc world, made him the God of death in my D&D setting

[@andrefelipe7865]

Damn I came quick this time Edit: This really blew up in my face... Edit 2: Goddamnit! Words are hard!

[@frogtalks2814]

That’s what she said

[@TheMariosack]

be sure to clean up after

[@owen-cu6gr]

Hate it when that happens

[@Runesmith]

It's okay, that's more common than you'd think

[@knightx6263]

Some days it be like that

[@jacktough]

Of all the current YT'ers making similar fight simulation content rn, yours are BY FAR the most entertaining/least cringe. Tyvm 🍻

[@gobbo1917]

I was not expecting a dog walker and worms Odyssey reference, it seems like you're oney-pilled

[@CrazyLikeUhFox]

*“BUILD THAT WALL,”* Dog Walker’s voice boomed with arcane resonance, summoning _Black Tentacles_ as a barrier to protect his allies.

[@gromph4]

Wait a grue, like in Zork. A beast that is likely to eat you in the dark.

[@Jane_8319]

I love the emissary so much. The star spawn are so cool

[@RawCauliflower]

Meanwhile the cosmic horror from spelljammer adventures in space is one of the most underpowered monsters I have ever seen for its CR.

[@agentchaos9332]

That's why you use Star Spawn Emisarries from Van Ritchen's Guide to Ravenloft instead. Or I guess you could have the nerfed space Kraken be the attack dog of someone who's actually threatening

[@verycoolname9404]

Okay, good video, but the Discworld RPG has me legitimately excited.

[@jaydenw9803]

Threw a small army of these guys at a 20th level party recently. (Probably like 20-30 of them in total. It was a massive Far Realm breach that the party had to shut before it expanded enough to pull the continent into the Far Realm.) It was quite fun seeing the Barbarian run in only to get triple-blitzed by the psychic orbs while the sorcerer tried to fend off a giant worm monster. After several waves of these guys pouring out of the Far Realm portal the party finally managed to destabilize the rift and close it, only to accidentally reveal that the rift had formed on top of a dormant Red Dragon, and now that the rift was shut, the dragon was once again free, awake, and very mad that its lair had suffered a full blown invasion while it was asleep. The dragon fled for the time being, because he decided to go with the nuclear option to address the issue, and plans to literally harness the power of the sun to turn his opposition to ash.

[@DanKeehner]

Star Spawn are really cool. And totally should be allowed to do their ritual. The cycle must continue.

[@thereisnowayyoucanremember7947]

Stuning the barbarian shoulnt have ended the rage. It only ends from the unconscious condition , or not attacking or taking damage , but he took damage from the attacks that stuned him.

[@francisweller839]

Star spawn are one of the few cults that actually live up to the threat they are supposed to be. Thank you, Logan, for another excellent demonstration. These types of videos are some of my favorite on KZbin.

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

And this is why you always choose Warforged if you can.

[@peterwhite6415]

As someone who playes in a post apoclypse game, where we faced much of these things in one fight (with at least 4 seers and 2 emissaries) and Sandy Perterson's Cthullu statblock at Tier 2 out of 4) ... both combats (both what we see in teh video and what me and my friends went through with allied npcs) was a slaughter. And our goal wasnt even to stop a ritual, it was to prevents Cthullu's Spawn from releasing more eldritch horrors into the world. Party survived for most part with a few debuffs but the our allies got super fucked. What we saw in this video isnt even the worse that can be tossed at us. The Star Spawn Emissary has 2 versions, a Lesser and Greater. Both have Legendary Actions but the Lesser has one nasty thing to it. If its killed or drop to 0 HP, its replaced by a full HP Greater Emissary... wich is also Higher CR then the Lesser version. These thing is a nightmare to go against and has something very few monsters have: The requirement to beat it via Banishment spell instead of doing a DMG check to it.

[@thebreadbringer]

Dungwalker had me HOWLING.

[@TheNoMoreGamer]

I wish they'd make more star spawn. These things are so neat

[@Xokoy]

4:24 Oooh, Slay the Princess asset. Love that game.

[@ludvigwatte4924]

The Amazing Bulk. Have your free algorithm point, funny Runes-man.

[@galling2052]

damn this is not like fighting normal dnd monsters. This is like fighting a faction from a tabletop wargame! Unique synergies and mechanics all!

[@gabrielrussell5531]

I ran this minus the worms, broken up into two encounters (4 mangler ambush, then Grue/Seer/2 Hulks) and it was a great time.

[@deatherutts]

I once made a wizard that got stuck in an iron golem like to see if you could do a mental torment for the wizard in a party 🤔

[@DemonicEngineer]

Awesome timing. I was thinking about Elder Evils just the other day.

[@JAY-gl5xd]

I'm going to check out the sponsor. I've been bingeing the disc world audio books and they are fantastic! And if you aren't familiar with them, they may seem nonsensical but are far from it. For example: in disc world, if you are facing one million to one odds, you're actual chances are much greater than 1:1000000. They are almost the inverse, because it makes for a better narrative. Or if you accidentally fire an arrow you are almost guaranteed to hit a duck. You will know it's a duck, because you'll hear a QUACK in the distance. It's not nonsense, it just has it's own reasons, and sciences.

[@MrSpeakerCone]

All this "science" stuff is a waste of time if you ask me. All you need is proper head-ology, that's what our Granny Weatherwax used to say.

[@alessandroamici7337]

Starspawn are my favourite, this really helps to understand how powerful they would be, and not including that often they will have a lot of humanoid cultists with them and warlocks and more Starspawn Grue, amazing video

[@thememeslinger7506]

1:01 You absolute buffoon you typed the number that's the amount of sides an octagon has BEL SHAMHAROTH COMES

[@DizzyQuanto]

I love Star Spawn!

[@Superhero97-dz3kq]

I had to look this up, but the answer to your question in the description is Justice Friends. Great video as always Logan!

[@thoriummothman]

so i could just use star spawn as a base for transformed moon cultists due to the setting(just a worldbuilding project i have been working on) for my planned campaign having the moon be the severed and still living head of what is basically a elder god trying to reassemble itself by getting cultists to tear holes into other planes so it can retrieve the rest of its body also i think the purple hulk knockoff mentioned in the description is literally just called the incredible bulk

[@antonioendicott4180]

void winnower being used in the art of this video is a massive W. That is one of the best eldrazis in mtg

[@EdgeMarquess]

Lmao I was literally watching your older video on the Star spawn this morning.

[@ShankMugen]

Strangely useful video, cause I just decided on using the Star Spawn as the main antagonists of the current arc a week ago

[@ryancrawford4639]

Love these videos when you do an actual scenario

[@grayrook8637]

I really wanna see Runesmith do a game of this Disc World RPG. Because Jumbo Shrimp spelled Gumbeu Shreim'p tells you how good he would be at it.

[@ryankeith2712]

The Star Spawn Hulk ping pong effect will never make me not laugh.

[@thefandombard4774]

I used star spawn as my big bads for most of the 2.5 yr long campaign and they loved it as they helped also unsettle the players

[@caerdwyn7467]

I've used star spawn as the Big Bads, and they rightfully terrify the players. Some of the best-designed monster teams in the game.

[@commonviewer2488]

👍🏽 for Discworld, the Kickstarter is about to wrap up

[@recurvestickerdragon]

I can't believe all the hulks have the same ability as _Zada, Hedron Grinder_

[@Tricolossus]

Great example of a battle. Also Discworld YES!!!!

[@Alex-ow8xt]

This is video has convinced me Skynet is our best defense against Cthulhu Skynet is immune to it psychic damage is the only thing that can reliably stand against the star spawn

[@MrSpeakerCone]

Real talk, Runesmithing in the Discworld setting would be really interesting. Like, the person who crafts new words by hammering away at the old ones.

[@eomin]

It's a bit crazy how the Cultists can immediately tactics the crap out of the party, despite only receiving their powers a few seconds before the encounter. But then again, some Lovecraft monster gave them those powers. So maybe it also transferred to them battle tactics against inferior overgrown gametes.

[@TheDashingRogue]

Sneako is a assassins

[@Fallenmonkd20]

I can't believe Worm Oddessy was in DnD all along

[@march4232]

Admittedly, I'm still a massive sucker for 4e's Star Spawn where they're the embodiments/avatars of malicious celestial bodies with far less uniformity to their designs, I just think they're neat! (Same with the living embodiments of cataclysmic magic that showed up in Monster Manual 2 or 3.)

[@troxidex7933]

slay the princess art mentioned!

[@ObakeOnna]

I don't know why I've never made the connection before, but the D&D Star Spawn are clearly named after the Star-Spawn of Cthulhu, the species of tentacle-faced extraterrestrial horrors Cthulhu itself belongs to. I'm not sure if Cthulhu is supposed to be their literal (biological?) parent or not. The mythos tends to be vague about these things, and changes depending on who is writing it. I don't have any point to make about this, I just found it interesting because "star spawn" as a name doesn't seem to appear anywhere else in popular culture.

[@fateric007]

We recently fought a Star Spawn Emissary. We almost TPK'D. We are level 20.

[@urahara64360]

I love the random nostalgia critic reference

[@jonathanwatson4484]

good choice ussing the amazing world of gumball to demostarte reality warping, the pizza episode is just a perfect presentation to universal concepts collapse

[@nikkiorr7088]

Was able to use a small army of star spawn against my then level 15 party. No worm man but it got half the party to 0hp before the fighter's vorpal sword saved the day

[@0mexol]

love this type of videos

[@GuardianTam]

Man thanks to Runesmith we're eating good this year!

[@joelsasmad]

2:10 I wish taking on a Starspawn form was the Warlock capstone.

[@adambartholomew6575]

Damn, I was reading the star spawn section in Van Richten's not even an hour ago Must be time to traumatized my players with horrors beyond comprehension

[@tatersalad76]

Well way to spoil the ending of my campaign man!

[@0_Body]

Artificer: Constructs you say?

[@Dernachtmachen]

Stop reading private messages that I send to my DM. We were just discussing this very scenario in a game he's running. And now, there's a TPK on the horizon thanks to this video. Great work on this btw, seriously. I do appreciate all your effort and gaming research you put into this.

[@CaptIronfoundersson]

Discworld? Never heard of it.

[@Crabappol]

Discworld? I hardly know her! (Laugh track)

[@recurvestickerdragon]

I cast _Evan's Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion_

[@ShankMugen]

Referencing JoJo's in a topical way is an instant like from me

[@TheMariosack]

Oh these are fuckin sick

[@francescomarasco590]

I litterally searched for DND aliens last week

[@whatsreallythepointthough4048]

lovely!

[@Unknown-xr1iz]

Great video! As someone who's been getting into dnd or ttrpgs in general. I'm curious on how you would run NPCs with classes. Like ranger bandits since if they are high enough levels they can be like canyon bandits or something with meld into stone and the alarm spells for ambushes

[@Gaston-Melchiori]

I love the unstopoing One Piece references❤

[@archmagemc3561]

I see what you did there Mr. Editor. Avatar the last airbender chanting and Binding of Isaac big door opening sound effect :P. Oh rune, could one of your parties use a Creation bard for one of them? They can do some INSANE stuff with their creation feature, esp past 14. (I used it to summon a huge aquarium and drown 4 fire elementals)

[@relariis_the_paradox]

I fucking love Star Spawn. Can't wait for my players to get there 😈

[@bravojr]

aliens suck at fighting Robots... I'm taking this one to the grave

[@ro.kn.2665]

damn just used them yesterday

[@chrishubbard64]

Thats a pretty diabolical setup of units. Grue providing their effects and basically being there to eat damage for the heavies, a boss that can basically lol nope your attack and can setup its own incredibly deadly combos, and the hulk who will just soak any hits it takes while shattering everyone around him. Question about the seer. When it does its swap skill, how does that effect skills like magic missile that multi hit? Does it get to dodge all darts? Just the first one? What happens if I am sending a missile at every mob it can switch with? Does it still avoid all darts? Get hit by the one previously intended for the guy he swapped with? Or, going by how there is no freaking limit mentioned in the bend space ability, does he dodge the second missile in favor of yet another mob even further away?

[@John-bb4zm]

The level 18 barbarian is only doing 15 per hit? Yikes, if hes stuck with frenzy at least let the poor guy have a damage feat

[@andresterrazas855]

What about Oberyth?

[@tomarmadiyer2698]

*ANKH-MORPORK* WOOOO!!!

[@georgeuferov1497]

4:53 - I would actually say that AI slop is kinda good for imagining Outer Planes Outer Planes are quasi-places that aren't real, but made out of infinite number of thoughts AI images aren't real art, but made out of lots and lots of images

[@M_Alexander]

I've found that AI generated dinosaurs are fantastic aberrations with too many eyes and mouths and claws in all the wrong places

[@Gamerdude-gd4hl]

sweet :)😀

[@asingulartowlett1389]

1:13 dude thats my main

[@mrquackadoodlemoo]

I know a way to Crit Dungwalker. With the Card of Ba'Aht Credite

[@Ghrim5vortex]

I love the League references haha. Are you excited for Ambessa?

[@DimaJeydar]

Ooh, very 4e-like. Also, did you really have to show Sneaky Sneako as Garrett and then change him to Corvo? 😢

[@DemonicEngineer]

That Eggman bit gave me Nostalgia. Would Dark Gaia be an Elder Evil🤔?

[@JamesTheCelestial]

According to the sonic wiki, Dark Gaia is "a primordial hyper energy organism from the dawn of time", which to me seems pretty eldritch.

[@HallowedKeeper_]

@@JamesTheCelestial Actually, i'd argue it is more akin to a Primordial, which are big scary elemental monsters essentially, vs Eldritch monstrosities from beyond space and time

[@lozm4835]

@@HallowedKeeper_ Yeah, it is 'Gaia'. When you think about it, it's aggressively natural - the ultimate predator that consumes vast swathes of life until it itself is consumed by light Gaia, whereupon its released energies presumably winds up feeding the next generation? It does only show up after millions of years. Or at least that's how I'd write a 'proper' Dark Gaia awakening, not like the one we saw happen. Which is horrifying concept when you think about it, but it fits the bill presented as a form of 'balance'.

[@JamesTheCelestial]

@@HallowedKeeper_ i can see your point, but I don't think a primordial is the right fit either, simply because despite being called Dark Gaia, i don't think i can assign a d&d element to it (at least, i don't recall darkness being an element outright) Admittedly, I wouldn't call it an aberration either though, because it does have some place in a sort of natural order. Weirdly i think all that I'd classify it as is some kind of malevolent extraterrestrial threat, because i don't think there's a specific category in d&d that truly fits Dark Gaia Edit: Apparently Dark Gaia does originate from the core of the earth, i thought it was extraterrestrial. Sorry, it's been years since i played Unleashed since i only ever had the wii version. With this in mind, yeah, primordial fits best as you could call it some kind of dark earth elemental

[@Pekrur]

2-1

[@joed7547]

Was the movie, The Amazing Bulk?

[@psychobrando9230]

i miss the improved storys at the beginning of the video

[@demonderpz7937]

Spawn me star daddy

[@davidpaulos2943]

Hey Runesmith...where did you get the token for the star seer? can i has it?

[@jah_alexander]

How will this affect Lebron’s legacy tho

[@VooshSpokesman]

Love from a Suris and Vaush fan!

[@scared-skitto2781]

Drippy

[@evilmurlock]

4:12 What is this music?

[@Plaugus_Screenz]

....

[@maplejunkie724]

Huh, I'm here early! AWESOME!

[@thedootlord]

Hi

[@nicholasmcmahan-watson9405]

First!