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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
254 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 07:02:54
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
I also have much 3e-current lore (e.g. Cormyr, the completely detailed city of Teziir) that's essentially complete, but has been "orphaned" by the time-jump, and am looking to WotC for some answers as to when and how we'll see this lore published.
One way is to work with the LFR volunteers, and see if parts can be used by them (seeded in adventures etc), or of they can aid in adapting it to 4th ed.
I'd be interested to work on Dalelands lore and help to adapt it to 4th ed (using the plans we have and the few things we have already seeded or worked out).
I think much lore is not too hard to carry over. A good idea will work pre- and post-Spellplague. Realistically, you would not even need to change most NPCs, since the only person who would know that these were people from a different time than the one published in is you, and that may be a small leap as you already have your own campaign timeline.
And anyone who wishes to continue play in, say, post-plague Cormyr could well take a 4th ed Teziir writeup, make the small adjustments (references to 4th ed NPCs etc), and use it in 3rd ed. (possibly well aware that that was what it was ment for... ah, the irony ;) ).
I know you seek to help us (and I value any advice or ideas you can give in between hectic schedules), but I think it may work to also use the incredible force of volunteers to your own advantage and see if it can lighten the load. Or have THO do it for you - I am sure she 'll enhoy whipping us into action.
Hmm.
I should probably not have mentioned whips there...
Gomez
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Marek
Seeker
Italy
52 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 13:04:01
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Thanks guys, I gave a look and I think I'll have to spend more time to check.
I have another question though.
Is there a list of all Thayan enclaves in the Realms? I realized those listed in the paragraph in Lords of Darkness are not all.
Thanks! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 15:40:54
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Hello again, all scribes. I bring to you a brief Realmslore reply from Ed of the Greenwood to this query from Baleful Avatar: “Oh, and just so my questions don't always sound like "fix my campaign please" queries, I have a very different one: in Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate, circa 1374 DR, what's the "hottest" fashion in lady's hats or hairdos, if any?”
Ed replies:
Ah, something I have sitting at my fingertips! Herewith, a swift reply:
The hottest fashion in feminine hair fashion is long, free-flowing hair down the back of the head and the shoulders and back below that, that is held “up” just in front of the crown of the scalp with an elaborate hair-comb (with upward-projecting spikes, so it looks like a tiara projecting up through the hair) that ends, on the back of the head, with a decorative weave of wires (think elaborate “open” knots akin to real-world Celtic knotwork) that gathers the “fall” of hair through a large defined ‘tube’ or oval of wire. So the fall of hair is really a gigantic ponytail, spread out wide by the knots.
Those who lack long hair of their own buy woven wigs of washed, combed, sorted, and dyed real hair, originally belonging to multiple others, that attach with hooks and clips to this back-of-the-head knotwork of the hair-comb (bald individuals wear chinstrap thin flesh-hued cords that hold the comb to their scalps).
This hairdo is known as “the ar-fall.”
The most fashionable headgear (for wearing over hair) is a prowed, peaked soft leather cap (think Hollywood Robin-Hood caps), fashioned to be very long and thin, that is attached to the hair-comb so it won’t fall off easily AND to keep it raked at an angle to one side of the head, and always “prow low in front, rear up at back.” Such caps always sport at least two large, fluffy feathers (from peacocks or other birds with large, colorful tailfeathers or flight feathers), one of each side of the cap. That’s the minimum; fops and the haughty may wear caps with nine or more feathers stuffed in, though all of them will be raked back (plumes to the rear). Caps of this sort are even appearing that have gauze-work woven among the feathers to support many tiny dangling “sparkle” faceted gemstones.
Such caps are formally known as “fancy-mes” but have now become more commonly known as “dees” (corruption through usages).
If Waterdhavian fashion patterns hold true, the hairdo and the cap will enjoy about the same period of wide popularity: two seasons. Thereafter, they will be used by those who want to signal they are NOT “irresponsible younglings” for another two seasons, and then retained by a few individuals for decades.
So saith Ed. And there you have it: detailed Realmslore of the sort we all love. Concise, easily ignored (without umbrage) if your campaign doesn’t need it, and embraced if it’s useful. Just like Ed. 
love to all,
THO
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Na-Gang
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
348 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 09:21:50
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| Further to the above lore on ladies' hair fashion and headgear, can Ed furnish us with the latest styles in Waterdhavian gentleman's tailoring for the same period? |
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StarBog
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 09:57:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Na-Gang
Further to the above lore on ladies' hair fashion and headgear,
I see Ed is channelling his inner Robert Jordan 
Now we need to find out if THO tugs her braids as well  |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 15:04:03
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Wonderful answer! Wish I could see an illustration, though. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 15:27:53
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Heh. I want illustrations of a LOT of choice Realms scenes and elements. Alustriel's court orgies, for instance . . .
Seriously, though, I'd give a lot for really good, up-close portraits of what the Chosen really look like, Mirt, the Knights of Myth Drannor, all of the Obarskyrs, Vangerdahast . . . as Ed sees them. No "mood" lighting, no disguises, just good clear depictions of their faces, and a whole-body shot that captures, by dress and pose, something of their character and what they "normally look like."
Part of me is really annoyed that Dragonlance got this about six times over, what with all the cover paintings, Leaves From books, comics, game products, et al . . . and if you look at the Realms, we never really did. Oh, we sure know what VOLO looks like, but . . .
BB |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
161 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 15:53:58
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| I would even buy a Realms CCG if it got us beautifully-painted portraits of FR characters. |
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Sage of Stars
Seeker
USA
59 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 15:56:50
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Bite your tongue, BA! No matter how much they might deny it, some WotC staffers DO read Candlekeep carefully and daily, you know - - don't give them ideas!!!
Be careful what you ask for sure applies here. Yes, the cards could be beautiful. Then again, they could be like far too much of the art we've seen in recent years, where an artist decided a character's looks, hair and eye color, apparent age, and even gender and race could all be changed on a whim! |
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A Gavel
Seeker
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 16:02:02
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Hmmm, nae so far-fetched, when you think about it.
If we're doing dumbed-down family D&D, why not a Guillotine or Great Dalmuti-level card game using Cormyr, for instance? Cards for Vangey, Alaphondar, Laspeera, all the Obarskyrs and a lot of nobles (some young ambitious pawns, a lot of old matriarchs and patriarchs who hate the royal family, and a few mavericks like the Wyvernspurs). A stocking stuffer purchase for old Realms fans, and (properly done) could be a darned good game for newer gamers.
And just in case any WotC staffers are reading this, I hand the idea freely and fully over to Wizards of the Coast, who are the proper owners of it in any case. (And I'm a judge, so my legal opinion is worth something.) |
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Aseran
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 16:18:00
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I've got a query for Mr. Greenwood, concerning some of the newest Realms material!
Out of all the work published for the latest edition of Forgotten Realms, it's Returned Abeir which intrigues me the most, and specifically the new continent that's appeared west of Faerun ("Laerakond"?). In the book, we get a cursory glimpse at the place and a concise summation of what it's about, but what do you feel about it is most different from Faerun; what sets it apart in the sense that it was a world split apart from what we know at what was practically the dawn of time?
Do you envision a vastly different culture there among the people, something a bit skewed from the traditional medieval-fantasy most of Faerun encompasses? What about the land itself? We already know about the striking appearance of the sky; do you envision the laws of nature there to behave differently, because it was shaped by primordials rather than gods?
Or did you, as may have been the idea all along, never really intend to go into this kind of detail on it, perhaps the idea being that it's for FR players to shape as they will? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 18:45:00
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Hello again, all. I bring you Ed of the Greenwood's reply to Aseran:
Hi, Aseran. I'm not sure how much detail the 4e Wizards design team intended the "new continent" of Returned Abeir to have (lighter than 3e, yes, but how much lighter, I'm not sure). From my point of view, the FRCG wordcounts meant many areas (notably the Sword Lands and the southerly ports) don't have enough. Specifically, just to start a short list:
What does the countryside look like? How good are the roads? Road signage? Inns?
Patrolled, law-abiding, or "your sword your own justice," or wild? Monster-roamed, or not?
Major imports? Exports? What are the local jobs, and what industries or trades "rule"?
Politics and government, enforcement and trials/courts/if any?
Architecture and local "character"? Adventure hooks/brewing problems?
That sort of thing. Short detailings of all of these can give DMs a lot more to go on without restricting DM or FR novel writer creativity.
I hope I can fill in some of those gaps as web columns; I've been communicating with Wizards staffers as to when and how, but nothing's been settled yet.
Stay tuned, as I try. :}
So saith Ed. Who's "on the job" as we speak.
love to all,
THO |
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Aseran
Acolyte
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 19:21:27
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quote:
I hope I can fill in some of those gaps as web columns; I've been communicating with Wizards staffers as to when and how, but nothing's been settled yet.
Stay tuned, as I try. :}
That's awesome; I really appreciate the answer (and wow, fast)!
I know that I for one am eagerly eyeing Dragon for new bits of information, like the article that was recently published about Gontal. For my part, in the meantime I'm taking all that's been said so far, and just mixing in a lot of random, exotic flavor, like instead of the usual European vibe, something like a mixture of remote real-world aboriginal, "isolated" cultures in going with the angle that they've developed differently, but brought up to the Realms' high-medieval level of technology and culture, and that's not even to speak of the new and completely different feel of things like the Dragonborn and the Eminence of Araunt (which is one thing I am just massively intrigued by).
The tuned, I'm stayin'.
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2008 : 20:33:51
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Hello All,
Ed whats below the city of Scornubel and whats below that? |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2008 : 16:01:04
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Thanks for jogging my brain, Asaran.
A friend of mine who attended this last GenCon told me that Ed created the Araunt lore, so I'm looking for anything else he could be induced to "spill" here, for patient scribes (hint, hint). Ed? Lovely THO? Feeling generous?
(Oops. Memo to self: Must NEVER say that to THO. Er, again.)
BB |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2008 : 19:13:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Marek
Here more questions from the community:
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How exactly Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul ascended to godhood?
Thanks!
I think the story was told in Faiths and Pantheons (AD&D 2). It is probably repeated on Wikipedia.
If you play the Age of Worms adventure path on Toril, it is implied that Jergal had a grand plan which required him to take a lesser divine status so that he could safely recover everything in the future (i.e., the 1370s DR). |
I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 01:31:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Jamallo Kreen
quote:
Originally posted by Marek
Here more questions from the community:
...
How exactly Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul ascended to godhood?
Thanks!
I think the story was told in Faiths and Pantheons (AD&D 2). It is probably repeated on Wikipedia.
'Tis actually from Faiths & Avatars -- [pg. 37].
There's also a few more details in the section for the Jathiman Dagger in Faith & Pantheons on pg. 169. The ascension of Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul also comes from Faiths & Pantheons -- the Mezeketh Isle map key section in "Places of Worship" and the sidebar on pg. 170.
Brian's Grand History of the Realms references a few bits and pieces as well. As does his "Ironfang Keep" article at WotC:- http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20071107a
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 05:55:47
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Faiths and Pantheons ... Faiths and Avatars ... Deities & Demigods ... Legends & Lore ... it's all one great blur to me!
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Verghityax
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 11:25:52
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Dear Ed and lovely Lady Hooded One,
Just a quickie today. Has Hillsfar (in Maalthiir's times) got any coat-of-arms? If yes, how does it look like? |
Edited by - Verghityax on 19 Sep 2008 12:03:14 |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
161 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 15:37:23
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Dear Ed and Lady THO,
My Realms question for today concerns Cormyr, and "rebel teenagers" (of both genders and all actual ages). We know that nobles can be "rakes" (wenching, drinking, vandalizing rips, like the young noble characters Ed and Elaine portrayed in the novel CITY OF SPLENDORS), but are NON-noble "rakes" tolerated? Do they exist? Are they the sort of role models younglings and teenagers would want to be like? And what about young, rebellious females? Can they be rakes, or do they "act up" some other way?
Garen Thal?
Thanks! |
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 15:40:37
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Hmmm. I like BA's question, but I'd like to apply it to Sembia. Specifically this: as the influence of Shade grows in Sembia, do the hot-headed young folks defy it? Embrace it? Think it's/Shades are cool? ?
Thanks! |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 15:48:06
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Hi Ed and THO,
I have yet another Realms question, too.
Fish. Taken well inland, for sale as food. Customarily: Dried? Smoked? Salted and dried? Made into cakes or something? Packed in clay jars, in oil?
(?)
Thanks!
BB
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 16:04:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Baleful Avatar
My Realms question for today concerns Cormyr, and "rebel teenagers" (of both genders and all actual ages). We know that nobles can be "rakes" (wenching, drinking, vandalizing rips, like the young noble characters Ed and Elaine portrayed in the novel CITY OF SPLENDORS), but are NON-noble "rakes" tolerated? Do they exist? Are they the sort of role models younglings and teenagers would want to be like? And what about young, rebellious females? Can they be rakes, or do they "act up" some other way?
Non-noble "rakes" do exist, though they tend to be of the wealthier classes (merchants' sons, usually younger children, who aren't expected to learn the family's trade and take over for their fathers in a few years). Most lower-income families can't afford rakish behavior, because it means that there's a son that isn't helping the family well enough; if your boy has enough energy at the end of the day to go out wenching, then he didn't put his back into that day's work.
In more rural areas, there is inevitably a "heartbreaker" sort of young man, who likes to jump from the affections of paramour to paramour, but they tend not to be the destructive type--unless they are truly malicious or planning on pursuing, in short order, a life of quiet marriage or one on the road adventuring. Folks in places like Espar simply don't abide that sort of behavior.
As for female rakes, well, ahem, yes. They exist, of course. They tend to fall into two sorts: the hard-riding, fencing, kiss-claiming "tomboy" type that inevitably wind up adventuring for some part of their lives (Alusair is a prime example of this type of "rake"); and the very beautiful, alluring, barely-clad type that wears gowns which plunge and rise in all the correct places, reveal entirely too much flesh, conceal certain bits with strategically hung or applied (through glues and similar adhesives) metals and gemstones, and otherwise serve as tempting "prizes" at noble revels. The Lady Regal presented early in Elminster's Daughter (whose proper name escapes me at present) is one such lady.
Noble rakes of both genders and all classes tend to pursue their activities out of boredom and excitement, although some do so from excesses of particular appetites (lust, drunkenness, or desire for destruction). The behavior is generally tolerated more in males than in females, although the attitudes are different; men are expected, on marriage, to reduce their destruction (though not necessarily their wenching), while women are expected to direct their energies toward their husbands, in order that they might draw their desires to the marital bedchamber rather than festhalls and the like.
Part of the reason that revels are so popular among young nobles is that they allow unmarried, unbetrothed young folk to "feel each other out" (pun only slightly intended), to see whether their appetites match one another, and if a couple will be capable of keeping one another's attentions. Woe to the husband that thought his wife's sultry appearance and navel-baring gown when he first met her was entirely for show. He's meant to reward that display with attention worthy of the challenge.
More from Ed, I hope... |
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Foxhelm
Senior Scribe
Canada
592 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 16:16:03
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This is a 4th Ed question.
In the FRCG, there is a chapter for threats for the new realms of the 1400's. My question is what kind of organizations would a good/Lawful Good/Unaligned character want to join?
Thank you. |
Ed Greenwood! The Solution... and Cause of all the Realms Problems! |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 18:46:51
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Ooooh! Great reply, Garen!
BB |
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 18:51:55
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Dear Ed and THO,
I'm sure there have been some changes to merchant trading costers (and priakos) in the hundred years between the Grand History and the 4e FRCG, and I don't expect a long catalogue of them, but I do want to know: is the relative social and economic importance of costers and priakos changed much? Do they still fulfill the same function in overall trade, and generally in the same way?
Thanks! |
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Broken Helm
Learned Scribe
USA
108 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 18:55:17
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Hi. Question for Ed:
How "Lovecraftian" (eldritch horror 'behind' everyday life, revealed slowly through PC campaigning) is the home FR campaign? How like that did you envisage the original Realms as being?
Thanks in advance. |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 19:09:31
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Oho! So on another thread here at the Keep, I read this, from our very lovely Lady THO:
"Hey, now, Ardashir, don't go applying our real world morals to Cormyr in the Realms! Fee knew all about Azoun's character before she married him, and their marriage was very happy (read some of the scenes in the Knights of Myth Drannor trilogy, and Ed's Realmslore web columns, for examples).
Ed tells me he has a Filfaeril story idea or two up his sleeve, for publication somewhere and somewhen . . . (both young Filfaeril and Dowager Queen Filfaeril).
And then, of course, there's the famous "cutting room floor" royal bedchamber sex scene Ed wrote for a novel, long ago, where Azoun and his queen are TRYING to make love, but keep getting interrupted (by servants, would-be assassins, War Wizards, Vangey, both of their daughters, Glarasteer Rhauligan . . .) :}
love to all,
THO"
Obviously, my question is...WHEN DO WE GET TO READ THIS SCENE?
BB
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 19:27:23
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Hmmm. Is that the one Ed read out at a long-ago GenCon (Phil Athan's first GenCon, I think, because he was attending that "fiction reading" session looking more and more shocked), when Ed would sing "doo doo doo" whenver he got to any naughty words or descriptions, because someone had brought their young children to the event?
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A Publishing Lackey
Seeker
74 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2008 : 19:39:46
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Ah, the good old days when every GenCon had Author Readings. Often on a stage, mind you, with a large audience, and the likes of Jeff Grubb treating us to forthcoming scenes.
Not to mention Ed PERFORMING his! 
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2008)
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