| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 28 Nov 2011 : 00:57:30
So I was thinking just today about a cool concept for an FR novel, which I thought I'd share. If anyone else has a slick idea like this, why not let us all know?
SHADOWDALE TALES, by Ed Greenwood: a "tale-within-a-tale" novel in which a series of seemingly disparate characters tell stories of their travels ranging from the fantastic to the mundane, from the wild to the all-too-believable. Inspired, of course, by Chaucer's famous Canterbury Tales.
What sort of novel concept have you been itching to read in the Realms that hasn't (yet) materialized?
You may or many not have an author in mind. I think Ed's "story-teller" style is perfect for the concept I had.
Eh?
Cheers |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Zireael |
Posted - 03 Jan 2012 : 11:03:32
quote:
I would like 'Cormyr: A Novel' about any and all areas of the Realms, actually.
Seconded.
quote:
Book 6 of Song and Swords series by Elaine Cunningham, 'Reclamation'
I'd love it too.
A psionic-centred novel, like somebody mentioned, is a good idea. We see too little of them in the Realms.
quote:
Heck, I'd even take a novel about Kimmuriel and his escape from House Oblodra and joining the ranks of the BD eventually becoming 2nd in command with Rai-Guy.
I can dream can't I? I think psionic heroes/villains have been underused in the Realms-lore personally, but I'm biased that way. I know psionics are rare in the Realms compared to say, Dark Sun.
quote:
They could even have something like The Lost Empires of Power, featuring Imaskar, Netheril, and Jhammdath.
Brilliant idea!
quote:
4. Jarlaxle's and Zaknafein's past.
5. Perhaps on a related note, it might be nice to check out the exploits of Zak at a younger age. Since he asked whether drow are born evil, or simply taught to be that way, when did he develop his personal conscience? How and why did he ever get attached to such a witch as Malice? What was it exactly that made him feel trapped in Menzo, instead of having the courage to go rogue as his son eventually would?
I'd love to see both in a single book by R.A.S.
quote:
Qarlynd Melarn and the City of Hope.
More about Araevin Teshur and/or the new residents of Myth Drannor.
A story about the founding of Menzo, or any drow city.
Those would be brilliant!
Erik's ideas are brilliant too!
-------------------------------------
An idea from me: Rowan Cormaeril (the sole surviving ghazneth) meets his son, Azoun V!
|
| Dennis |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 13:47:02
quote:
Originally posted by Tyrant
I'm honestly surprised this idea has been singled out to be picked to death. Discussion didn't go for a page about why Halaster and a Manshoon clone would suddenly turn completely suicidal and launch an attack against Larloch.
May I emphasize suicidal? Again, I agree! |
| Dennis |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 13:45:38
quote:
Originally posted by Tyrant
Why wouldn't Raistlin just time travel on Krynn, something he has done before, and then make his way to Toril? Under the assumption they meet on Toril, obviously. Or just say that when he time travelled forward from the moment before the Cataclysm his spell interacted with the unleashed wrath of the gods to blast him across time and space to Toril. For all we know, their fighting could be the result of a wager between Mystra and the 3 gods of magic on Krynn. I think the how is being way, way overthought when one of the two characters views time and death as inconveniences and whose plan would've seen him the only god left standing while the other is the chosen of a goddess and a traveller of the planes who has lived for over 1000 years. The number of plausable meet up scenarios have to be numerous. If nothing else, just use the set up in one of the last issues in Dragon magazine, Mordekainen hired someone to set it up.
I wholeheartedly agree.
It may not even matter what exactly are Raistlin's reasons for time traveling. Some malfunction of his artifact, a glitch in the fabric of magic and reality, or a reconstruction of the rules on time travel (done by the deities of both worlds who are in charge of it) making such travel temporarily haywire, would be more than enough explanation as to how Raistlin suddenly finds himself in Toril. |
| Tyrant |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 07:06:06
I may have misunderstood, but I believe the goal is not cooperation. I believe the point is some type of confrontation. And again, I think the how, and now the why, is being overthought. Would Elminster, and likely Raistlin, avoid this conflict if they could? Of course. However, I believe the Elminster vs Raistlin idea presumes that avoiding it is not an option for reasons left up to the author. Like a third party, such as Mordekainen, manipulating events to set the two on a collision course. Or maybe something like the Dark Powers in Ravenloft grab them both, dump them in the demiplane of dread, and say the last one left standing gets to leave.
I'm honestly surprised this idea has been singled out to be picked to death. Discussion didn't go for a page about why Halaster and a Manshoon clone would suddenly turn completely suicidal and launch an attack against Larloch. |
| Charles Phipps |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 06:34:25
Honestly, I always considered the Wizard's Three canon.
Then again, I don't take my Realms QUITE as seriously as some.
(Yes, this means Ed Greenwood is regularly visited by Elminster in real life)
===
My dream novels:
A new Alias novel.
Elaine Cunningham writing Arilyn and Danillo somehow transported into the future.
A novel where the Shades get their posteriors kicked to show they aren't the masters of everything. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 05:36:12
I'm inclined to agree.
Aside from multiversal catastrophes that could potentially threaten both worlds, and thus may require great archmages coming together to discuss strategy, I can't see why Raistlin and/or Elminster would want to arrange something like this.
That is, if we're discounting the whole "Wizards' Three" scenario. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 05:10:40
It took a lot of effort for Raistlin to travel thru time, and he had specific goals in mind. I don't see him undertaking such a venture for the sake of sharing tea and biscuits with a mage from another world.
I also fail to see the benefit for Elminster, here. |
| Tyrant |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 03:03:20
Why wouldn't Raistlin just time travel on Krynn, something he has done before, and then make his way to Toril? Under the assumption they meet on Toril, obviously. Or just say that when he time travelled forward from the moment before the Cataclysm his spell interacted with the unleashed wrath of the gods to blast him across time and space to Toril. For all we know, their fighting could be the result of a wager between Mystra and the 3 gods of magic on Krynn. I think the how is being way, way overthought when one of the two characters views time and death as inconveniences and whose plan would've seen him the only god left standing while the other is the chosen of a goddess and a traveller of the planes who has lived for over 1000 years. The number of plausable meet up scenarios have to be numerous. If nothing else, just use the set up in one of the last issues in Dragon magazine, Mordekainen hired someone to set it up. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 02:45:24
I suppose the utilisation of Krynn's Anvil of Time could be considered as a possible enabler for part of this scenario. But given that the Anvil only allows access to time periods on Krynn, it would mean determining where in Krynn's history that a potential meeting between Raistlin and Elminster can be arranged, before accessing the artifact to find the desired temporal destination.
|
| Ayrik |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 02:19:13
Time travel spells (with the same name and similar function but differing in significant details) exist in both settings, so it's quite possible for time travel to occur in either setting. The "significant details" happen to include what amounts to being the ultimate approval of a native deity, in much the same manner as priestly magic. I doubt Mystra/Amaunator/Lathander in the Realms, or Gilean/Astinus/Zivilyn in Krynn would ever allow a foreign being as powerful as Elminster or Raistlin to muck around the histories they police, unless their need was most desperate. Although I suppose it's possible for deities who exist in both worlds, like Bahamut or perhaps even Labelas Enoreth, to encourage such possibilities ... yet I'm of the opinion that deities simply cannot be deceived or manipulated against their will in matters over which they hold exclusive portfolio, so Mystra could not be fooled or threatened with magic, nor could Astinus ever be compelled to write false history. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 01:53:16
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
FR and DL do not have the same time frame. The author can send Raistlin to Toril prior to the events in Test of the Twins.
We were given, however, an explicitly stated timeline line-up between the two settings. It was in Dragon magazine. Raistlin died about the same time as the Time of Troubles.
Since they're two different settings, and both are saturated with magic, time is not really an issue. The writer may simply conjure a time travel artifact that Raistlin may use for whatever reason, and by some twist of fate brings him instead to the future, which in timeline line-up is "present" in Toril (post-SP). Or something along that line.
This really depends on the planar cosmology you would be using as part of this tale. If it's pre-3e, then the Demiplane of Time and it's grasp on both Prime Material Planes and alternate realities, needs to be addressed first. A time travel artifact that results in a timeline line-up between Krynn and Toril which allows Raistlin and Elminster to meet, would require access to the Demiplane of Time -- the Temporal Prime. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 01:51:13
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
FR and DL do not have the same time frame. The author can send Raistlin to Toril prior to the events in Test of the Twins.
We were given, however, an explicitly stated timeline line-up between the two settings. It was in Dragon magazine. Raistlin died about the same time as the Time of Troubles.
Of course, the events of the "War of Souls" trilogy kind of throws out the accuracy of that old timeline, slightly. But then, I don't think Elminster would have any qualms about meeting the ghost of Raistlin.  |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 01:49:58
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
FR and DL do not have the same time frame. The author can send Raistlin to Toril prior to the events in Test of the Twins.
Again, the alternate timelines need to be considered here. It's not simply a matter of travelling back to the events depicted in Test of the Twins.
I'll provide you with a link to the most comprehensive DL novel timeline currently available online. It should have to underline my point.
|
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 01:48:41
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
It's further complicated by the running of two alternate-timelines for a time, when Raistlin and Caramon journeyed into the past. One or the other timeline would have to be specifically determined as the point of destination. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 02 Jan 2012 : 01:47:33
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Tarrok of Halruaa
I would like to see a series on novels based around the recent metamorphosis of Lathander to Amaunator. Amaunator could seek to undo the Dawn Cataclysm, which results in the second re-awakening of Moander.
I don't see how a second Dawn Cataclysm would affect Moander in the slightest... Especially since his divinity has been passed on.
I'm a little confused by this myself.
Unless the second Dawn Cataclysm was specifically targeted at what remains of Moander, I'm not seeing how this scenario could effectively play out. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 20:38:20
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
FR and DL do not have the same time frame. The author can send Raistlin to Toril prior to the events in Test of the Twins.
We were given, however, an explicitly stated timeline line-up between the two settings. It was in Dragon magazine. Raistlin died about the same time as the Time of Troubles.
Since they're two different settings, and both are saturated with magic, time is not really an issue. The writer may simply conjure a time travel artifact that Raistlin may use for whatever reason, and by some twist of fate brings him instead to the future, which in timeline line-up is "present" in Toril (post-SP). Or something along that line. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 20:22:33
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
FR and DL do not have the same time frame. The author can send Raistlin to Toril prior to the events in Test of the Twins.
We were given, however, an explicitly stated timeline line-up between the two settings. It was in Dragon magazine. Raistlin died about the same time as the Time of Troubles. |
| Drizztsmanchild |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 18:47:03
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
FR and DL do not have the same time frame. The author can send Raistlin to Toril prior to the events in Test of the Twins.
Plus Raist has been brought back in several novels afterward....his body didn't "physically die" as he put it in Dragons of Summerflame. Death is the easiest of obstacles to overcome in this crossover. It wont happen though. |
| Aulduron |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 18:20:13
quote:
Aulduron, there have been 4 books about Halruaa - Murder in Halruaa (which is more a murder mystery novel than a Halruaa novel) by Richard Myers (1996) and then Elaine Cunningham's 3 book Counselors and Kings series: Magehound (2000); Floodgate (2001) and Wizardwar (2002), which are very good.
Thanks. I figured there was a book or two that I didn't know about. Unless one or more of these books does this, I still think it would be cool to read about the city from it's founding to it's destruction. I think I'll read Ms Cunningham's series. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 17:44:29
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated...
FR and DL do not have the same time frame. The author can send Raistlin to Toril prior to the events in Test of the Twins. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 16:41:14
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer.
Raistlin is dead, so this would be complicated... |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 16:40:28
quote:
Originally posted by Tarrok of Halruaa
I would like to see a series on novels based around the recent metamorphosis of Lathander to Amaunator. Amaunator could seek to undo the Dawn Cataclysm, which results in the second re-awakening of Moander.
I don't see how a second Dawn Cataclysm would affect Moander in the slightest... Especially since his divinity has been passed on. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 16:39:21
quote:
Originally posted by Tarrok of Halruaa
quote:
Originally posted by Aulduron
I've read nothing about Halrua, and it interests me. Maybe an Evermeet or Cormyr style book about it.
Aulduron, there have been 4 books about Halruaa - Murder in Halruaa (which is more a murder mystery novel than a Halruaa novel) by Richard Myers (1996) and then Elaine Cunningham's 3 book Counselors and Kings series: Magehound (2000); Floodgate (2001) and Wizardwar (2002), which are very good.
Nevertheless I too would welcome a post-Spellplague Halruaa novel.
I don't know what they could do there, being that the land blew up (and yet, despite causing mass destruction on the other side of a wall of mountains, is still strangely intact). |
| Tarrok of Halruaa |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 10:53:09
I would like to see a series on novels based around the recent metamorphosis of Lathander to Amaunator. Amaunator could seek to undo the Dawn Cataclysm, which results in the second re-awakening of Moander. |
| Tarrok of Halruaa |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 10:40:10
quote:
Originally posted by Aulduron
I've read nothing about Halrua, and it interests me. Maybe an Evermeet or Cormyr style book about it.
Aulduron, there have been 4 books about Halruaa - Murder in Halruaa (which is more a murder mystery novel than a Halruaa novel) by Richard Myers (1996) and then Elaine Cunningham's 3 book Counselors and Kings series: Magehound (2000); Floodgate (2001) and Wizardwar (2002), which are very good.
Nevertheless I too would welcome a post-Spellplague Halruaa novel. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 08:19:20
quote:
Originally posted by Drizztsmanchild
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
Seconded. And I want the setting to be the Forgotten Realms. How on earth will Raistlin crossover to Toril is up to the writer. |
| Drizztsmanchild |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 08:12:09
Elminster vs Ao...similar to Spock vs Q. Not a battle but a debate.
And El vs Raist crossover...(not trying to start an xvsy debate) its just something I would like to read.
|
| althen artren |
Posted - 01 Jan 2012 : 04:18:51
Larloch: Evil Batman Halaster: His Joker
You cannot plan for madness. Please, Im sure Halaster
has all sorts of things on storage in Undermountain
that could level the playing field. Plus, I think
there is a trapped (god?, elder evil?, infernal lord?,)
Let me look around a little for the notation I saw and
add it to the conversation.
|
| Aulduron |
Posted - 30 Dec 2011 : 21:11:21
I'd love to read more about the Crown Wars and the early Dwarven clans, but it's been implied that it ain't happening.
Stories about the newly redeemed dark elves escaping the Underdark.
We had a series about a Dragon Rage. Maybe a story about an Orc Horde, from the orcs PoV?
Josidiah losing Gwen.
Zak and Jarlaxle, with the Spider Mage.
Qarlynd Melarn and the City of Hope.
Sorry Elaine, but more Liriel! You did too good a job with her to not want more. Maybe a short story about her dealing with the fact that 2 of her goddesses have died.
I've read nothing about Halrua, and it interests me. Maybe an Evermeet or Cormyr style book about it.
More about Araevin Teshur and/or the new residents of Myth Drannor.
A story about the founding of Menzo, or any drow city. |
| Roboginger |
Posted - 29 Dec 2011 : 19:01:41
I would love a story in an urban setting, including a master of disguise perhaps a bard who hides in plain site.  |
