The existence of the bulette implies the existence of a much larger and meaner bulé.

So glad to be lookin' at ya, Esper. Great video! All the best from down under. Just for the record, I've always found you welcoming. Cheers.

Love seeing the Night Hag get the praise she deserves. They have a rich lore and fit perfectly into narratives about enduring and overcoming weaknesses of character. A hag can really invoke some deep emotions such as primal fear, rage, and anxiety within players. The ability to present a challenge that threatens the NPCs characters care about that can't be easily dealt with via combat is so compelling.

As someone who has loved your channel for 6+ years, I really appreciate your attitude about making small adjustments to improve your videos! No criticism or suggestions from me, I love what you do brother. Your content improves my life and mental health in a very real way. Keep it up!

The power of positivity is inherent in your new style!

I indeed like your new way to talk.

Really like the personal pieces to camera in this vid. Feels like you're actually welcoming us viewers into your Emporium.

I like the idea of how what you said in the beginning can imply that there are some areas on the map that you can't even begin to hope you will survive until you level up your units to a 1970s era of military technology for non casters alone.

Dude, your delivery is always top notch. It's your best aspect. If you obsess on in U might damage it. Seriously, your in a class of your own. Head above the rest when it comes to speaking ability. Don't worry about it.

42:30 I so badly wish for a DnD game where you get to play as the monsters. Imagine playing as a hag and you have to lure and deceive you victims, and establish your base and repel Good type characters who want to clear you out. Or you could be a mind flayer and take over the townsfolk and try to establish your lair, getting stronger creatures and beholders and stuff to defend your lair. Vampires and expanding their influence and members without arousing too much suspicion... or even a dragon increasing its hoard and making deals with evil creatures to defend its lair. I think it'd be so fun and a cool twist on the adventurer narrative that we're all used to.

In this video you are more entertaining and energetic than your live stream. You are much easier to hear which is great for me because I work outside and that's when I listen to most videos.

NOOOO!!!! NOT MY BOY THE BULLETE!!!! he my favorite monster to run, i just love them so much.

Kudos on that referral to Esper's Emporium. I would actually live if you made that a standard in your videos - casually dropping an Esper-made monster in these ranking videos. It increases your products' visibility and it is interesting for those who already own them

I’ve been loving your content and have been using your advice and input to help my own games for a few years now. Thanks Esper! :)

Heyyo Esper and DnD lovers, i got striken by the lightning of inspiration one more time listening to your video... when you talk about the Allip this tortured spirit... you used the word "anguish" (what a scary word!) in my bad behaviour of foreigner i mispelled it "Hang-Wish" ohhhhhhhhhhhh ... what about a ghost ambushing adventurers from the ceilings of grim dark caves or crypts with a rope and psychic terror skills... the victime would have to succeed in wisdom or charisma saving throws to fight back the confusion and focus on breaking free from the tight noose strangling it steadily that the ghost is pulling up laughing sarcasticly... this encounter would hang on a cliffhanger and the tension would be .... breath taking 🤪😧😧😧😧😧

I like your old style but new as well. I also appreciate you sharing how you use these monsters in encounters when you make these tier videos.

You should totally do this type of video for bunch of different challenge ratings! CR5 is a good representation of tier 2 monsters, so at the very least I would love to see a similar video of a CR from each tier. Maybe CR3, CR11 and CR17?

I've never found your takes offensive, so I doubly appreciate holding yourself to an even higher standard. Making criticisms while being entertaining is a delicate balance, one which you achieve. Very clear you care about the game, your content, and your impact. Love the direction you're taking!

Another great video, Esper. Thank you.

I, as many many other 80s kids, had that same pack of cheap Chinese toys the Bulette and Rust monster were based on..Bulette was shaped like a bullet and Gygax jokingly pronounced it in the french accent. There's a video on KZfaq where he explains it. Been playing d&d since the 80s and now I'm making my own game. Great times.

Love the monster rankings! Prost from Florida good sir!

The hebrews speak hebrew, the arabs speak arabic, the english speak english. Checks out.

Awesome video, Esper! I really enjoyed the style of presents in this one! Your passion for these monsters and the stories they can tell really shines through!

Uuuuuuh! Challenge Rating Time! I love those so much! Thanks a lot, Esper! edit: Oh, btw - where can I find the outro music? Fantastic!

"Baguette, Jeanette, Claudette, une Cigarette, et moi, oh la la la la la!" - Black Fööss

Talking about French, Tarrasque is a monster from French mythology and there’s actually festivities around it every year in south of France, where they parade one in the town etc.

I think the defining traits of a cambion are it's direct fiendish heritage and it's unique innate abilities. I made a cambion recently as an NPC. I'll gladly rant if you're interested. Edit: as the list goes on so many beautiful memories come to mind. Thank you for this list Esper. It's causing my nostalgia to kick into overdrive. :)

Im glad you still have ways to make tier list videos and still make them interesting, ive heen watching you since 2018 and i didnt expect the tier list tyoe videos to last very long

Love the new style! It looks like you talk with your hands a lot, so it might be worth trying to get them in frame more. Also, giving yourself something to look at occasionally (maybe the book the monster is from as a prop or a mini of the monster if you have one?) might be nice since the unwavering eye contact, while impressive, is just a tad intimidating lol. Thanks again for the video, it has been a good inspiration as always!

great video, loved it

Esper your new videos are Fantastic !!!! GG sir , keep it up

Loved it, as always

I like the new vibes in the video. I once ran an alip as a boss monster with legendary actions and I had it attached to a ritual to summon it. There were three cultists and three legendary actions. They figured out pretty quick to take out the cultist first.

I always understood the language names to be placeholders to be customized for settings. The same goes for common, thieves' cant, druidic, etc.

Nice work. 👍

5th Level feels so much more better than anything before it. 3rd level spells or Extra Attack are such big upgrades.

Also in french bulette the bu- makes a different sound from the bu-sh sound, it have to spelt boulet like poulet (chicken) to sound like that, which may have been what was intended perhaps

Awesome video man! The more approachable method works a treat. I hope this translates to more views and better circulation on the algorithm!

I believe an in universe reason as to why these languages are named for the species who speaks them is due to them usually not being willing to have enough of a civil discussion to actually tell you the name of their language. Some many not even have proper names within their own languages or ones that can't be communicated verbally as at least in a couple cases, they use non verbal communication like Umber Hulks using scent or other cases using body language

I wasnt' expecting a small french lesson on my dnd video... but i found it oddly satisfying

Yes! More tier lists!

I love these crs because they’re applicable at most levels

What's sad about the 5e Challenge Rating system is that for most of those creatures it assumes players used core rules only for their characers. I put a Barlgura plus a mob of lesser demons (dretches and manes mostly) in something that should effortlessly kill the party in an open combat (the intent was they will run away to better position where they can utilize narrow space to cancel the numbers advantage, which was but a short run back), but they took them all out in three to four rounds in an open field, with nary a scratch... Something that, by the book, should be almost 2x deadly encounter (they were level 4 at the time, if I recall correctly). This made them too cocky, and when they encountered the boss (shadow demon and two shadows, which I added specifically to make the battle last a bit longer than two rounds, given the Barlgura encounter I had every reason to assume that a less numerous encounter will be stomped) they just assumed they win that battle too (despite the magical darkness present, which gave the enemies a huge advantage), and they barely survived. That was the adventure I learned you cannot trust the Challenge Rating in this game :)

34:41 you should do a yuan-ti ranking video

Last session I ran an altered Umbra Hulk against my party of 5 level 3s. They won with only one dead

During a fight with a night hag a bard used his inspiration on my glory paladin before got dwoned by the hag. The hag was far away and my paladin and got one las shot, so I burned my channel divinity and cast guiding bolt, I hit and after de damage stoped the DM before he sayed anything, I added the inspiration dice to the dmg and kill the hag whit the power of friendship. Now both chapracters are best friends.

I see esper, I watch.

Good video. WotC probably doesn't have the legal right to use the Bulette.

I've always found you to be an opinionated guy, but so am I. I don't think that's a bad thing, even if I don't always agree with said opinions. Like your owlbear disdain. But then I agree with others. Like how Strixhaven is a very difficult theme to get into from a sword and sorcery standpoint. I personally hate it and all the cutesy (I like my cute in small bites) stuff, though I can appreciate that others like that kinda of setting. Don't change, have opinions. But if it makes more sense for you to cite "OPINION" heavily for the sake of your channel, go for it. But don't stop being you in the process!

"I know that you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you just be whelmed?" Me: I think you can in D&D (Points if you get the reference)

Voice sounds great!

thats interesting gorgons are also scaled bulls in Heroes of Might and Magic

On the crystal dragon being Chaotic neutral not fitting its friendly demeanor. Keep in mind chaotic neutral are not just exclusive to scoundrels beserkers. You can be a fun individual with some dark undertones. And it dosen't mean your moral compass is gone completely. It can be a spectrum. Look at the two main characters from the movie the Road to El Dorado. They are tricksters and con artists. But they mostly con sketchy sailors in gambling games in alley ways, not really conning a kid of their food money for the month. And when on the city of gold, they are very much against anything that could lead to straight up cruelty and murder. Those two are good example of good leaning chaotic neutral characters. Still selfish, but are disgusted if actual inhuman cruelty is done to innocent people (like potential slavery). While also enyoing peoples good company and fun (mostly the blonde dude on that lady one, man's basically a bard)

Where would you track the Kruthik Hive Lord? It's a cr 5 monster but I didn't see it in your video despite the mention in your community post.

What was the name of the track that played at the start of the video? Because it went kinda hard and I wanna listen to it on its own.

What would you do to improve upon the tlincalli?

The Oblex reminds me of the Master from Fallout

About the languages: English speak... english French speak...french Japanese speak... japanese Languages with special names happen bur are not the default. (And while you can say that the Romans spoke Latin, you also have to accept that the Latins spoke...)

yeah objective chalenge levels independant of what the party level is yes yes yes beware though to have the group be able to know somehow where are they getting themselvs in cause the agency for fleeing or not going there is important

Just out of curiosity, think you'll do a 6 levels of Good video? I think that's still interesting as compared to the 6 levels of evil video you made. Cheers

Wait a brontosaurus is a CR5 i’d expect that to be a bit stronger CR8 maybe 9

I fall asleep to these videos, so the calm sound is way better. I would personally prefer if you cut out the intro music as well as any other loud music

Bro brought out the French phlem

I once again request an abominations ranking. They are an often overlooked creature type, so overlooked 5e doesnt even have them.

Do all these exist in your West March World?

Esper: "I'm going to be more positive." Also Esper: "What's with all these languages named the same thing as the creature that speaks it?" You'd prefer "Sahuaginish?" Probably too much of a mouth full, even if it would better fit the trend set by "Elvish" and "Dwarvish." The thing is, I think if humans were only capable of speaking and understanding a single language, we'd probably just call it "the human language" too.

I thought succubi produced Alu-fiends? Wizards of the Coast even published an entire novel series, _The Empyrean Odyssey,_ starring an Alu-fiend named Aliiza. Are we just going to pretend all of that doesn't exist now? Yeesh.

i guess allips created by Suicide got to harsh for the nannys

33:05 wait kobald dragons are metallic

Purple Dragon should return in its glory 🐲 Maybe it was hiding in a far realm, making its plots. Fungus dragon should be a different creature, not related to Purple Dragon.

An odd fact most don't know is a badger up to 20 feet per minute in real life. Many species of ants & beetles as small as they are can burrow 10 to 15 per minute which imagine if they were not under a about 2 inches long in size. Damage is not the aim in digging & people would be amazed what little critters are capable of compared to the machinery engineers like myself produce. look at flesh burrowing arachnids like select species of mite as some can get though the dermis before the person can even try to pull them out or claw at them. Never underestimate natural world lad for animals are capable of some feats we Engineers have only just got sense of or have no idea how to replicate! The best boring machines can do about 32 meters or 105 feet per day. it isn't really the machines lack of speed but that the material has to be transported from the dig site & structural integrity as well as reinforcing frames have to be fitted continually in stages as it progresses. If you made a boring machine that could reinforce the tunnel & remove the debris behind it at the same time the distance that could be burrowed would increase about a dozen fold at least.

Meth Sorbo Rocks

My God. Accurate lore? Unique, useful D&D long- form content? Great campaign advice? And finally...David Bowie, the closest thing to Elvis our generation had (and some would say superior to him), quotes to open? You have my sub with no further questions, Sir. I still think CR is garbage, though. Seeing a CR 2 rip through a level 4 party, while a CR 5 loses to a bunch of level one noobs, says something is wrong fundamentally with the calculations. Not to say the info you give here is bad, mind you. Great video. CR itself just needs a rework, IMHO.

Werebears are fren shaped

We have a very different taste in monsters, I for one hate tanarukk and cambion, no way they are better then bulette and trolls for me personally.

Calmer is for sure better.

Bump

Just be yourself. Being natural is always better and fire Is more entertaining than being cowed into toeing some imaginary line of acceptability.

The English speak English, the Spanish speak Spanish, the Germans speak German... Monsters speaking languages that are named after themselves is par for the course for most people.

The French speak French, the Italians speak Italian, the Elves speak elven, and the dwarves speak Dwarven... 😮

you know the CR and the encounter builder (easy, medium, hard deadly) are meaningless, they are worth NOTHING. I could build an encounter blindfolded throwing dart on the monster glossary and build a more appropriate encounter for my party then what the encounter builder will give you. compare the griffon and the Gryck for example (2 CR 2 monster that are close by in the monster manual) The gryck have 2 more AC then a griffon (10% more chance to dodge an attack), but half the HP One fly 80ft, the other climb 30ft Griffon got 2 attack both with a +6 to hit, one dealing 1d8+4 the other 2d6+4 GRyx got 2 attack with a +4 to hit (10% less chance to hit)one dealing 1d6+2 the other 2d6+2 The griffon is consistently way stronger then a Gryck, but somehow they are both a CR2? Then the encounter builder was "balance" for a team of character made using the 2014 SRD. SO you only have access to 4 classes with 1 subclass each (champion fighter, life cleric, thief rogue and evoker wizard) no multiclass permitted, no feat (just ASI) only 4 race options with 1 subrace each (lightfoot kinder, mountain dwarf, non-variant human (the one who receive +1 to all stat and no feat) and high elf and no magic item. So obviously when your bugbear gloomstalker/assassin build approach with pass without trace and surprises everyone with sharpshooter and crossbow expert and a +2 hand crossbow, he obliterate the 3time deadly encounter in a single round...

About the language and races in Dnd... it's not that strange. The Spanish speak Spanish, the English speak English, the Germans speak German, the Japanese speak Japanese...

I think you should be you. And your opinions should be as unfiltered as possible.

Is it just me, or do the asides seem distracting?

Please take this as constructive criticism. In your video you expressed that you are trying to rework your interaction with your audience, trying for a more inclusive comfortable experience. What struck me most about your video is your knowledge, bravo, but the second is that you stare right into the camera and your blinking is almost non-existence -- this is aggressive and uncomfortable for the viewer, even though unintentional. Try to work on looking away from camera in a natural way, rather like when you talk with someone. This is harder than it sounds since you are just sitting there with a camera. Your expertise with AD&D is impressive and you are pleasant to look at, but the eye contact needs softening. All my best and thank you.

Any way you could talk about other fantasy TTRPGs? Shadowdark, Paladium, etc... A lot of the old guard have moved on from Hasbro/WotC Dungeons and Dragons to other less politically correct, and pop-culture TTRPGs. I love your mind, your imagination, your suggestions, your lore and your gaming style, but after 35 years I just don't like D&D any more.

These monsters are all classics!