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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 10:38:00
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Although Ed has already done a massive job at detailing Thunderstone (I would have *paid* to get that info in print), I might add a few lore questions regarding that area:
9) Are there any Eldreth Veluuthra agents operating in the area, and if so, which sort of means and allies they usually employ? Would they, for example, ally themselves with (or manipulate or "frame") cultists of Cyric or Malar or even the Zhents under any circumstances? I asked this question, because it seems that 4E FR suggests EV is *very* interested in protecting the elven ruins within Hullack Forest, and even considering finding an elven realm there.
10) Are there any Red Wizards or Iron Throne agents operating in or near the town? (I seem to recall a certain cleric of Garagos plus references to brigands in 'Cloak & Dagger' -- would this info still be relevant)?
11) How many businesses in Thunderstone (a rough estimate is enough :) are "backed" or owned by Sembian money, and are there any (known) Sembian merchants/landowners/coster agents here? Also, how do the Cormyrean authorities (Alusair, War Wizards and Purple Dragons) and local nobles usually relate to them?
12) Are there any jewelers and/or moneylenders in Thunderstone?
13) How many armorers, blacksmiths and weaponsmiths are there in Thunderstone, and are these "professions" commonly held by the same persons (doing all the local "smithing work") in rural Cormyr?
14) Which mercantile organizations/costers or shipping companies have a base in or outside Thunderstone? (Cormyrean Coin Coster from Wheloon is one that I've included)
15) From your description I gather that Thunderstone does not have any sort of curtain walls or barbicans or gates -- are there Purple Dragons stationed outside the town (i.e. standing along the roads in shifts), or do they simply use outrider patrols?
16) Finally: I seem to recall that Hullack Trail was presented as a trail (i.e. a "non-paved" road) in 2E maps, but 3E FRCS shows it as a "major" road. Is this a recent change (initiated, perhaps, by Alusair) or simply a "map issue"? So I'm asking: is Hullack Trail paved in 1370 DR, and if so, does the road extend through the Thunder Peaks? Are the streets in Thunderstone paved, and are there any smaller lanes/streets which are "covered" with logs?
Lady THO and Ed, once again my humble thanks for all your patience and the amazing lore you keep providing day after day. :) |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
254 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 10:53:00
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End of 2006, Ed gave a length reply concerning the war om Sessrendale and the nature of the Dusklord.
I was thinking to rework that reply into a hand-out (to be added as an appendix to a future adventure), suitable reworked (remove rule refs, possibly add some ambiguity) into a scroll that could be found in the Leaves of Learning in Highmoon.
I would like to attribute it to a writer, and my question here is who that writer could be.
Note that the adventure is set Year of the Ageless One, but the author can be from any time in the preceding 200 years.
Gomez
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 10:57:34
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I promised Ed some follow-up questions to his answer about Aerlathra "Manycloaks" Dethoaran, so here goes (still pertaining to Aglarond in 1372):
What would a typical Aglarondan "house-garden" look like? Wkat kind of plants is it used for growing? Foodstuffs, medicinals, or just to "good-looking ones"?
What is grown in Aglarondan greenhouses? How common are they (the greenhouses)?
What is the normal fee for an apprenticeship?
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There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2009 : 10:59:17
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And as long as I have the floor - reading about Aerlathra's Harper-involvement made me wonder: Who is/was the main "under-cover" agent for the Red Wizards in Aglarond at the time?
And what kind of activities, other than trying to come up with a way to kill Her Majesty of the Shredded Dresses , would the Red Wizards have their Aglarondan agents be up to? Spreading discord among the armed forces? Abducting people to be taken to Thay as slaves? Trying to widen the gap between the various nations that make up Aglarond (Altumbel, Velprin, the Yuirwood, and the Fang if memory serves me correctly - come to that, would nation be the right word for those areas [as in the Iroquois nation, the Swedish nation, and so on])? |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
Edited by - Kajehase on 23 Jan 2009 11:04:24 |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2009 : 00:27:09
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Ed what is the one question you have not been asked here that you really, really want to be asked and can't wait to answer?
and what is that answer? |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Edited by - The Red Walker on 24 Jan 2009 00:27:46 |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2009 : 00:29:12
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quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I'm getting nostalgic in my old age and was wondering if Ed would find the time to provide us here at the 'Keep with some spellbook write-ups in "Pages From the Mages" style. I'm happy not to get any game mechanics (although mention of unique spells contained witin them and what the spells 'do' would be nice). If I can indicate a preference, I'd love to see something to do with Halruaa or Netheril.
I understand if this might take a while, but I'm the patient sort.
-- George Krashos
Halruaa Please! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Aysen
Learned Scribe
115 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jan 2009 : 06:50:48
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
I'm getting nostalgic in my old age and was wondering if Ed would find the time to provide us here at the 'Keep with some spellbook write-ups in "Pages From the Mages" style. I'm happy not to get any game mechanics (although mention of unique spells contained witin them and what the spells 'do' would be nice). If I can indicate a preference, I'd love to see something to do with Halruaa or Netheril.
I understand if this might take a while, but I'm the patient sort.
-- George Krashos
Halruaa Please!
If George doesn't mind, I'd like to chime in too. My preference would be spells of the Shoon era in the South. I was quite intrigued with the pyramidal spellshields and "mosaic magic" used by Priamon Rakesk in Blackstaff.
I think it would be interesting to see how the genie magic of the South evolved over time to become Shoonite(?)and then Calishite. Is it considered a separate "pedigree" compared to the Elvish/Netherese of the North and the Imaskari/Mulhorandi/Thay of the South-East? |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jan 2009 : 23:52:37
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Hello Ed,
What happens to children born in prison from female criminals, is fate of child dependent on race of mother, social standing? PC asked me this recently?
Regional answers much appreciated. |
Edited by - createvmind on 25 Jan 2009 23:55:46 |
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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1419 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2009 : 09:01:19
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I'd like to add my guess for who is the author of "Filfaeril: Bound and Willing"
LASPEERA! Who else but a woman could write such purple prose but also with some intimate knowledge of the Royal Chambers?
It's always the quiet ones!
But yes, Ed, if you're allowed to do small details of Cormyr in the 4E. Do the Cormyrians have any special ways to honor the Steel Regent, Azoun the Fourth, or Tanalasta in their holidays?
They were pretty heroic figures.
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My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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ranger_of_the_unicorn_run
Learned Scribe
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2009 : 13:29:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Charles Phipps
I'd like to add my guess for who is the author of "Filfaeril: Bound and Willing"
LASPEERA! Who else but a woman could write such purple prose but also with some intimate knowledge of the Royal Chambers?
It's always the quiet ones!
But yes, Ed, if you're allowed to do small details of Cormyr in the 4E. Do the Cormyrians have any special ways to honor the Steel Regent, Azoun the Fourth, or Tanalasta in their holidays?
They were pretty heroic figures.
Laspeera was already guessed. The list of guesses so far is as follows:
Alaphondar
Giogioni Wyvernspur
Vangerdahast
King Azoun
Valantha Shimmerstar
Elminster
Storm
Tessaril Winter
Glarasteer Rhauligan
Aerilee Summerwood
Laspeera
Garen Thal
Filfaeril
Volothamp Geddarm
Tanalasta
Alusair
Jorunhast
Dimswart
Thone |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2009 : 17:41:36
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Hi again, all. Ed returns from judging a round of the current RPG Superstar Challenge going on at Paizo (Villains), and from some frantic days of writing and doing annual library budgets and legal negotiations (the reasons for his short silence) to answer this recent query from Gomez: “End of 2006, Ed gave a lengthy reply concerning the war on Sessrendale and the nature of the Dusklord.
I was thinking to rework that reply into a hand-out (to be added as an appendix to a future adventure), suitably reworked (remove rule refs, possibly add some ambiguity) into a scroll that could be found in the Leaves of Learning in Highmoon.
I would like to attribute it to a writer, and my question here is who that writer could be.
Note that the adventure is set Year of the Ageless One, but the author can be from any time in the preceding 200 years.”
Ed replies:
One can invent any number of sages or Cormyrean courtiers who could write such a brief historical outline of the fate of Sessrendale, of course, but I myself would choose Anlathur of Saerloon, who wrote a series of chapbooks on various locales in the Heartlands during the 1360s and 1370s (DR), including LOST DALES AND VANISHED NAMED PLACES OF THE MOONSEA VICINITY (1364 DR), which became briefly popular among adventurers and treasure-seeking investors in Sembia (and Westgate, and to a much lesser extent, Cormyr) when a (false) rumor spread that the text concealed encoded directions to a treasure hoard.
So saith Ed. Who will return with more Realmslore for us all, as soon as he can. Gomez, expect that report late tonight (it's midday here as I write this) or early tomorrow morn, okay?
love,
THO
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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
254 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2009 : 19:20:30
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Huzzah! Thanks THO and Ed,
That is really useable info.
And looks like I'll have a busy day tomorrow ;)
Gomez |
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Zanan
Senior Scribe
Germany
942 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jan 2009 : 11:10:38
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Over at the WizBoards, someone asked the following question, one which Ed surely can reply to?!
quote:
I was reading the section in the Forgotten Realms guide about the King's Forest in Cormyr. Anyway, it briefly mentions a prophecy about a "Queen of Thorns" who sleeps beneath the forest. I was just wondering, does anyone know or has it ever been stated who or what this Queen of Thorns is?
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=17724119#post17724119 |
Cave quid dicis, quando et cui!
Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!
In memory of Alura Durshavin.
Visit my "Homepage" to find A Guide to the Drow NPCs of Faerûn, Drow and non-Drow PrC and much more. |
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Amarel Derakanor
Seeker
97 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 09:56:26
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I have two questions for 'our lovely hooded lady', actually!
1.) Was it long ago since Ed, you, and the others sat down and enjoyed a game in *his* Realms?
2.) How did that last session play out? Prevented any RSE's did you?
//Amarel |
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Amarel Derakanor
Seeker
97 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 10:43:42
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| Oh, and by the way, it couldn't be Caladnei who's the author of 'Filfaeril Bound and Willing', right? Or could it...? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 18:42:27
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Hi again, all. Ed has just come in the door from driving his wife to the local hospital for routine tests, through the usual perfectly-timed nasty blizzard (unploughed roads), to give us a brief Realmslore reply, this time to Amarel Derakanor's post (directly preceding this one):
Caladnei is a great guess, but (sorry) not the right one. :}
(I MIGHT give hints later on, Sage, but not yet. Right now, this is too much fun, watching fellow fans of the Realms try to think who the author might be, playing "most likely/least likely" logic chains.
So saith Ed. And as for your questions to me, Amarel, my answers are:
1. Not as long ago as you might think. (And for playing in the Realms without Ed: two nights back.)
2. Sorry; can't tell (I've signed my share of NDAs, too, and have done more "playtesting" for the Realms than many; just because neither Ed nor any of his veteran players tend to get listed in WotC-product front-matter playtest credits doesn't mean we haven't been involved, just that we tend to get forgotten and left off repeatedly). I can tell you that when Ed is the DM for a long-running campaign (as opposed to a one-shot pickup session), there are NEVER RSEs involved, because there are always a dozen or more subplots active at once; even if PCs went looking for RSEs to prevent, they'd never get the time or the freedom from distraction to find any, except by sheerest accident/literally stumbling into the middle of things.
love,
THO
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Edited by - The Hooded One on 28 Jan 2009 18:45:14 |
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Darkmeer
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 19:17:03
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Greetings Ed, THO, and all,
I have a question regarding the Tashalar's cities and villages. Outside of Narubel, the ruined city of Procalith, and Tashluta, there are no other real villages or cities mentioned. Are there more, or is it all just vineyards & farmland constantly watching for yuan-ti?
Many Thanks
/d |
"These people are my family, not just friends, and if you want to get to them you gotta go through ME." |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4685 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 20:04:47
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Hmm, might as well get this name on the list.
Volo, after all he writes about so many things of the Realms *G* |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 23:06:32
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
(I MIGHT give hints later on, Sage, but not yet. Right now, this is too much fun, watching fellow fans of the Realms try to think who the author might be, playing "most likely/least likely" logic chains.
No worries Ed. I am actually having fun deriving my own personal listing on the identity of the author. I'll post any choices I think are relevant... when I think they're relevant.  |
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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Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2009 : 23:13:43
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Hullo again, Ed. On THO's suggestion, I'm rephrasing one of my posts from elsewhere in the forums as a question to thee:
It's Ches, Year of the Tankard/1370. One of my PCs picked up a cohort, a lady knight by the name of "Lorna" (Dalorna) Melruth (a nom de guerre). She's the bastard daughter of a Cormyrean lady of ill repute and a visiting sun elf Everaer noble. She was mostly raised as a playmate to a white sheep of a Cormyrean noble house with anti-royal tendencies, and the two became betrothed. He was likeable and bookish; she was headstrong and martially inclined, and trained by the bodyguards of the house.
Some time in 1369, to pay off debts, her fiancé is assassinated by the Fire Knives and the rest of his family seizes his property and servants. Lorna is disowned, and only manages to keep her engagement gift, a fully barded Cormyrean destrier named Deftin, her armor, shield, and the clothes on her back. Lorna leaves Cormyr for the Dales quietly.
I need a name and house for Lorna's unfortunate betrothed. THO suggested you might be able to dredge up one of the Cormyrean families that gets little screen time; if you have a most likely candidate or three that's not covered by an NDA, I'd love suggestions, and I'm sure my fellow scribes would appreciate the lore.
As for slightly more data to narrow it down, I have no idea, geographically, where this noble family might be based, other than the fiancé living in a semi-rural manor home, his age (mid or late 20's), his family's traditional anti-Obarskyr leanings (with him being an exception), and his bookish self.
Many thanks in advance. |
One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2009 : 01:51:29
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Hello again, all. This time Ed’s latest offering of Realmslore is directed to Darkmeer, who posted: “Greetings Ed, THO, and all, I have a question regarding the Tashalar's cities and villages. Outside of Narubel, the ruined city of Procalith, and Tashluta, there are no other real villages or cities mentioned. Are there more, or is it all just vineyards & farmland constantly watching for yuan-ti? Many Thanks”
Ed replies:
Well, the first thing you should know about this is that the term “the Tashalar” used to be loosely applied to Lapaliiya, too, and by some to Sheirtalar whilst others used it to mean “everything south and west of Sheirtalar along the coast, until settlements peter out and it’s just the wild jungles of Chult.” Some people in the Heartlands and Sword Coast north of Baldur’s Gate, who’ve never visited this area, still use it to mean that. (A few distant outlanders even include Tharsult when they say “the Tashalar,” though that has to be considered wrong, considering that no one from Tharsult, Tashluta, or the coastal areas in question would ever have agreed that Tharsult should be included.)
With that cleared up, let’s say “the Tashalar proper” includes Narubel, Procalith, Tashluta, and the southern coast of The Shining Sea between the mountains west of Narubel and the mountains just west of Sammaresh (the western boundary of Lapaliiya), south through the Tashan Gap to where cleared (farmed and ranched), rolling uplands end and unbroken jungle starts. (Jungle is often burned or logged or both to keep it from swiftly reclaiming cleared areas.)
This defined area is rolling terrain crisscrossed by many nameless, winding dirt lanes. Near the coast it flattens into very gentling rolling terrain, traversed by a good coastal road (that for mysterious reasons seldom appears on published maps, but that parallels the coast pretty closely, about half a mile inland, and links Tashluta and Narubel).
The upland (southern) ranches of the Tashalar are unfenced areas patrolled by mounted ranchers, that have boundary cairns and tiny woodlots (called “thouks”) of jungle where vines, flowers, trees, birds, and small jungle creatures flourish. In part they flourish because all snakes (not just monstrous ones, or yuan-ti) are slain on sight (except by a handful of ranchers who eat serpent eggs and train house-guardian snakes or fashion snake-constructs or are in league with nagas).
Ranchers and farmers alike leave certain fields “fallow” to reseed themselves from time to time (they quickly become overgrown and can be grazed, and edible peppers and mushrooms are one crop that flourishes amid the chokingly-thick jungle vegetation, growing huge specimens for trade and the table even when untended).
Shifting back to the coast, one finds almost no ranches but many farms and vineyards.
Along the coastal road and along lanes reaching out in all directions (except into the sea) from cities like the “rays” of a star, one also finds two sorts of settlements that don’t make it onto maps, and so don’t have recorded names.
One sort are the truly temporary and nameless “tent cities,” clusters of travelling merchants’ tents that change as trade dictates, as various merchants move toward or away from specific cities, take part in caravans, shift to take part in livestock markets or trade at ports where many ships are docking, and so on. So the size of a tent city and the precise location of particular tents can change daily, especially as spring really “warms up” or fall really “draws down” or “chills.”
The winter season, where local edible crops are lightest but most valuable elsewhere (and so are almost all shipped out from the docks of Tashluta and Narubel whilst locals make do with pickles, preserves, and “meat meals” from hunting and of livestock whose owners don’t want to pay to feed their beasts through until spring [and so keep only the best breeding stock]) is a lean time for these traders, who tend to seek Var the Golden and similar places to trade, or return to bases in the Vilhon, Lantan, and elsewhere to work on crafted goods for sale NEXT season. At such times, the tent cities disappear, and only a handful of tents (often housing those who trade in poisons, potions, prostitution, monster procurement and body parts, and other “somewhat shady” professions or goods) remain, around the cities.
The second sort of unmapped, unnamed settlement is permanent housing: walled “haelaers” (pronounced: “Hail-LAYERS”) that are collectively known as “the Haeloot.” The first word roughly translates as “home ground,” and the second means “all who dwell within walls, outside city walls” (in this context, “within walls” means within a walled compound, not just in a house or hut of some sort. (A modest one-family walled compound of the same sort would be called a “stead” or “steading” in the Sword Coast North, and a “hold” if it was larger and home to multiple families.)
The term “Haeloot” is usually used in everyday conversation to mean the great mass of people who dwell in haelaers, in either a disparaging or a social sense (assuming they make up a discrete “class” of folk, or seeing them in a collective sense as consumers or those privy to information or slower to adopt fashions than city-dwellers or as having a shared opinion among themselves that differs from the opinion collectively held by city-dwellers).
In general, those who live in haelaers are wealthier and enjoy better lives (better and cheaper food, more space and more quiet and privacy, more fresh air) than the poorest city dwellers or the ranchers, but are looked down upon as “gold-shy” (we might say “country cousins”) by the wealthiest city-dwellers, who believe that haelaer-dwellers are too poor to afford grand city lodgings.
Haelaers are actually of two sorts: the abode of a wealthy family who dwell with their servants inside a walled compound owned and (in practise, though Tashlutan laws do in fact formally apply) governed by the wealthy family (some of whom style themselves as nobles); and a walled compound shared by more or less equal families (sometimes related by blood, by shared ownership of a business, or even because their elders were once members of the same group of employees or band of adventurers, and have now retired together).
Both sorts of haelaer tend to have similar features inside the walls: wells (or springs) and ponds (or both), orchards, stables, carriage sheds and/or workshops, food and herb gardens, and dwelling places, with most buildings being erected along the inside of the encircling wall (and sometimes having “back doors” out through it, or overhanging balconies that allow entry or departure by means of rope ladders or lines let down to the ground outside on a temporary basis. Some haelaer walls are banked with earth on the inside, and fall away as stone-clad walls only on the outside (where those earthen banks exist, they are usually grass-covered and contain various small, stone-lined “root cellars” where barrels of vegetables and fruits (in straw) are stored, as well as herbs and drinkables, meat being smoked or salted in barrels, fish in brine, wax-coated wheels of cheese, and so on). Cats are frequent pets (to keep down rodents who might otherwise devastate stored foods), and hobbled or tethered (or both) goats or sheep are often kept a-grazing, to yield milk, cheese, and occasional meat.
Where haelaers differ is in the dwellings they contain. One owned by a wealthy family will usually have a grand mansion (and sometimes a grand detached guesthouse), a gatehouse to guard entrance and egress, and much smaller, more spartan servants' quarters.
A shared-among-equals haelaer sometimes means sharing a grand mansion (with young boys, or older women, or nursing women with young children, or other subgroups using the outlying former servants’ cottages), but far more often was built as a shared haelaer, and lacks a mansion, instead having multiple modest dwellings.
Haelaers are also found in Lapaliiya, so one should think of the coastal areas of that land being crowded with them, in between the named cities and towns (generally, any good port will be a city, and the towns develop around river fords or bridges where the plentiful water makes possible long-established livestock markets, around which permanent market-moots grow).
Here are the names of a few of the haelaers around Tashluta: Bhaelongarr, Chellyth, Dalauntrel, Eskoun, Farrat, Hazlurel, Jarrabar, Laelont, Moraunglel, Skalat, Vaerlont, Yallanth, and Zimzrel.
Here are some of the haelaers around Narubel: Angahlel, Baerazh, Cirindyr (note: pronounced “SEER-in-deer”), Dathrel, Felpharel, Gasiz, Halamarokh, Imdrel, Nebrynth, Toraunna.
Here are a few haelaers found along the coast, not very near any city: Asbrinth, Djathynth, Ilingolorr, Larzrel, Lollonth, Lyrelont, Marelhaummur, Nanryth, Olophyr, Olosstel, Ssantrel, Taenthaun, Uoovralat, Velantrrat.
Feel free to coin your own names; they can sound like just about anything, thanks to the varying origins of (and tongues spoken by) the builders and founding owners. In long-established local dialects, the suffix “el” means ‘abode of’ (whoever’s name precedes it in the name); “alat” means ‘place of’ or ‘well of’; “rrat” means ‘grave of’; “garr” and any ending that includes “th” or “yth” or “ynth” means ‘place flourished in.’ So these suffixes appear often in haelaer names (another note: only very recent haelaer names will refer to “tower” or “keep,” and a haelaer name never evokes “Castle” or “Fort,” even if it’s built like one). The prefix “Olo” denotes good fortune.
So saith Ed. Who first imagined the Realms oh-so-vividly some forty-odd years ago, and continues to do so with every passing day.
P.S. Daviot, thank you, and your request is already on its way to Ed.
Kentinal, Ed chuckled at your guess, wondered why it had taken someone so long to suggest that particular candidate for authorship - - and wants you to know that this time, Volo isn’t guilty. Guess again.
love to all,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2009 : 01:55:39
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Ah, one more thing.
Reading over Ed's reply, it occurs to me that he neglected to mention one thing: that caravans have been trade-blood for this region since it was VERY sparsely settled by humans, so all market-moots (towns and cities) always have a "shadow" of commonly-owned grazing land right around them where caravans have traditionally assembled, merchants set up tents and stalls, and so on. This is where the tent cities go; it's only rarely (in cases of extreme crowding) that they spread onto someone's farm or ranch and must pay rent.
love to all,
THO |
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Shodanicron
Acolyte
Ireland
6 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2009 : 02:05:47
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Hi ed,
I have been searching for the answer to this question for some weeks now but have not yet come up with a satisfying answer.
It pertains to the Style of Armor and weaponry of the Ancient Netherese prior to the fall. Motifs or themes? favored weapons, material and to make things easier to picture any real world equivalents.
Thanks for your time.
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Amarel Derakanor
Seeker
97 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2009 : 09:55:54
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Thanks alot for the answers, Hooded One. |
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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2009 : 01:48:01
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Greeting THO and mighty ED.
First of all I hope everyone is well, even thou I dont know any of you and have never met you, a sound greeeting you shall get.
Now to my question.
I have looked and searched, and looked some more but have been unable to find the answer to this question, so now it goes to you.
how long would a wizard lvl 22, with INT 34, WIS 23 and extencive knowlegde on both Netheril and the elves, have to study the Nether scrolls in order to learn the secrets???(Get the bonus) Is it an equal amound of time per chapter or??? And does the study time differ betweene the "beach tree" and the scrolls en their true form?
Basicly, what would it take to learn the information storred in the Scrolls???
best wishes
Nicolai |
Edited by - Nicolai Withander on 30 Jan 2009 01:48:55 |
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2009 : 02:00:09
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Heya,
It doesn't really seem like her thing (at least to me), but might I suggest Myrmeen Lhal as the author of Filfaeril Bound and Willing? |
Zandilar
~amor vincit omnia~
~audaces fortuna iuvat~
As the spell ends, you look up into the sky to see the sun blazing overhead like noon in a desert. Then something else in the sky catches your attention. Turning your gaze, you see a tawny furred kitten bounding across the sky towards the new sun. Her eyes glint a mischevious green as she pounces on it as if it were nothing but a colossal ball of golden yarn. With quick strokes of her paws, it is batted across the sky, back and forth. Then with a wink the kitten and the sun disappear, leaving the citizens of Elversult gazing up with amazed expressions that quickly turn into chortles and mirth.
The Sunlord left Elversult the same day in humilitation, and was never heard from again. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2009 : 03:11:04
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Hello again, all. This time I bring you new Realmslore from Ed of the Greenwood in response to this query, from Daviot: “Hullo again, Ed. On THO's suggestion, I'm rephrasing one of my posts from elsewhere in the forums as a question to thee:
It's Ches, Year of the Tankard/1370. One of my PCs picked up a cohort, a lady knight by the name of "Lorna" (Dalorna) Melruth (a nom de guerre). She's the bastard daughter of a Cormyrean lady of ill repute and a visiting sun elf Everaer noble. She was mostly raised as a playmate to a white sheep of a Cormyrean noble house with anti-royal tendencies, and the two became betrothed. He was likeable and bookish; she was headstrong and martially inclined, and trained by the bodyguards of the house.
Some time in 1369, to pay off debts, her fiancé is assassinated by the Fire Knives and the rest of his family seizes his property and servants. Lorna is disowned, and only manages to keep her engagement gift, a fully barded Cormyrean destrier named Deftin, her armor, shield, and the clothes on her back. Lorna leaves Cormyr for the Dales quietly.
I need a name and house for Lorna's unfortunate betrothed. THO suggested you might be able to dredge up one of the Cormyrean families that gets little screen time; if you have a most likely candidate or three that's not covered by an NDA, I'd love suggestions, and I'm sure my fellow scribes would appreciate the lore.
As for slightly more data to narrow it down, I have no idea, geographically, where this noble family might be based, other than the fiancé living in a semi-rural manor home, his age (mid or late 20's), his family's traditional anti-Obarskyr leanings (with him being an exception), and his bookish self.
Many thanks in advance.”
Ed replies:
Well, now. At the time of the assassination of Lorna’s affianced, there are almost twenty minor noble families whom he could easily have been a member of. I’m going to choose just four, and to make sure I don’t hamper any plans being hatched by anyone else (and to accommodate the necessary assassination of a son, AND to please Cormyr fans here at the Keep with new lore of the Forest Kingdom), I’ve made sure to pick families I KNOW haven’t been mentioned in official Realmslore before (or in the extensive lore-notes I sent to TSR, back in the day). So what follows is literally ALL that has thus far been seen by anyone about these families.
Take your pick, and feel free to use the others for other purposes.
I’ll send details of one family at a time to THO to relay to the Keep (hopefully one every evening for four evenings, if nothing trips me up).
So here’s our first candidate family . . .
House Arcantlet: [badge: a black side-on dragon’s head (bronze dragon in basis shape, only with a longer, thinner snout) looking to the viewer’s left, on a gold field. From the base of the dragon’s neck, at the bottom of the badge, a black line curves up and around in an almost-complete circle to enclose the gold field, but ends in a point just before joining the neck]
With a modest townhouse on a quiet street in northwestern Suzail, farms south of the Way of the Manticore not far east of the Wyvernflow, and Cantergates, a small but fortified country mansion (in the midst of a private hunting forest or “chase”) southeast of Hultail, the Arcantlet family is comparatively impoverished, unknown, and few in numbers.
Ennobled in the reign of Duar for “valiant personal service to the King” (saving his life in battle more than once, and fighting at his side as a competent and trusted warrior), Lathlan Arcantlet was a quiet, studious, and cunning-in-battle knight who as Lord Arcantlet (given the land where Cantergates now stands and two small adjacent farms that had fallen into royal hands after Duar killed their traitor-owners, but nothing more) set out to found a family and die happy, respected, and rich.
He managed all three, building a slightly smaller Cantergates and adding three more farms to his Wyvernflow holdings before his death, at the age of ninety-six, surrounded by his wife, seven daughters, and three sons.
By royal assent, Lathlan’s wife Paerelle became Lady Arcantlet in her own right, and she shrewdly watched her offspring, trying to decide who would make her best successor. Death took two of the sons and one daughter not all that many years later, another four daughters married into other families, and an elderly and ill Lady Arcantlet named her daughter Raedaunra her successor as head of the house. This enraged her surviving son, Tersarren, who murdered her - - and was promptly executed by the Crown for doing so.
A saddened Raedaunra dwelt in Cantergates with her two sisters for more than a decade, but eventually fell in love with a commoner named Hareth Blacksheath. They were wed, and their son Croenel, a handsome, upstanding and “kingly” man eventually succeeded Raedaunra. Croenel’s weaknesses were gambling and fair lasses, but he was a shrewd merchant trader with an eye for trends and strategic purchases, and died very rich, having replaced the Arcantlet rental accommodations in Suzail with a grand mansion, built a large fleet of merchant caravels busily plying the waves of the Sea of Fallen Stars, and been not too proud to enter scores of business ventures with common-born Suzailan merchants (many of which were successful). However, Croenel’s love for chasing longskirts led to him marrying late. He sired only one son and one daughter - - and the daughter, Nendiira, proved to be a dangerous, murderous madwoman who covertly slew scores of people before she was suspected, confronted, and died under the spells of three Wizards of War after she’d killed a fourth.
Croenel’s son, Thandivurr (a quiet, scholarly man who withdrew from most of the family merchant ventures and had the misfortune to lose much of his fleet over the years in storms, remorse keeping him from adding any ships to replace those lost), also had only one son, Fendrel, an amoral rake and lover of sly schemes and thievery whose shady business dealings impoverished the family and lost them their Suzailan mansion. Fendrel had two sons, Asgreth and Thandurl - - and from that day to this, no Lord Arcantlet has sired more than two sons (and three daughters), and most have managed only one of each.
The family has stayed small and fairly poor, living within its means but as a result having a low profile among the nobility of Cormyr and little influence at Court.
In 1349, a weak and ineffectual Lord Thurcastle Arcantlet died (having spent the previous six years so wandering in his wits that the family’s kindly house wizard [yes, a Wizard of War], Brestor Narbridle, had really run the family, propping up Thurcastle’s saddened wife, Lady Adbrooke). The sole son, Helgrath, became Lord Arcantlet, and proved to be the “brokemirror” (antithesis) of his father; Helgrath was a hearty hunting, riding, brawling, wenching sort, burly, darkly handsome, and jovial.
Helgrath sent Narbridle packing and faced down Vangerdahast, telling him to “send any young novice, as we love the land yet have no love for Court scheming or conniving, controlling mages here!”
Strangely, Helgrath survived saying such words to the Royal Magician, and found himself saddled with an everchanging succession of young, inexperienced, mild-mannered house wizards - - which suited him just fine. He was busy marrying and wearing out wives, taking Nalrue Rowanmantle as his bride in 1351 DR and remarrying (Lalustra Thornstag) in 1357, within months of Nalrue’s death in childbirth. He sired sons Talryn in 1351 and Nesgarl in 1355, and daughters Oromelle (1353), Jathra (1357; her mother died birthing her), and Helbra (1359).
Helgrath died in a suspicious hunting accident in 1360 (it was almost certainly murder, but the identity of the murderers - - Helgrath died with four arrows through him, all fired from different directions in the thick forest and all piercing him before he fell - - was never uncovered, despite a “storm-scouringly diligent” investigation by the Wizards of War).
After Helgrath’s death, the true mettle of the surviving Arcantlets was revealed. Oromelle was a spiteful, brilliant woman and a superb actress, who may well have been no more evil than that (she withdrew to Suzail, survived several attempts on her life that were almost certainly made by “hands” hired by her family, and then “disappeared” with the assistance of the War Wizards and Crown permission, changing her appearance and name and being held “in reserve” to keep this noble family from becoming extinct if the Crown is ever forced to execute the rest, or their misadventures kill them all), and Nesgarl was an easygoing, gentle scholar [this is Lorna’s guy, if you want to use the Arcantlets], but Lalustra, Talryn, Jathra, and Helbra were “pure twisted poison,” to borrow War Wizard Laspeera’s description of them.
Talryn became Lord Arcantlet when young and headstrong, and set about trying to become rich and powerful by scheming with every Sembian cabal and illicit thieving group he could find - - soon running the family deep into debt to his shady allies when slaving and drug-running ventures crumbled in the face of War Wizard-led attacks and surveillance. He began ruthless, and has rapidly become embittered and a cold, tireless foe of many.
Lalustra tried to sleep her way through “every available noble bed” she could worm her way into, seeking a new husband with wealth to keep her pampered and a weak enough character to be dominated. She left a trail of unhappy noblemen she’d stolen from and fought with, and eventually gave up husband-hunting (running out of suitable candidates, and not yet ready to lower herself to “Marsemban nobles, or commoners with much coin but no noble blood”) and ended up back under her son’s roof, unwanted and untrusted.
Jathra and Helbra are superb actresses, poisoners, and wantons who used their bodies and promises to work their way through a succession of men (yes, despite Helbra’s young age; she was born with stunning good looks, matured into ripe beauty at about age nine, and watched and learned “wiles” from her mother and older sisters). Jathra likes rough, strong men and wealthy commoner merchants, preferably both; Helbra prefers lonely noblemen, often the unmarried, unhappy “uncles” of other families.
All of the surviving Arcantlets can be civil to each other, and even work together for common advantage, but none of them trust each other as far as the thickness of a dagger-blade. Moreover, Talryn, Lalustra, and Jathra all actively hate each other so much that any such cooperation between any two of them is going to be short-lived indeed.
As of 1369 [the time of Nesgarl’s murder, if you choose this noble house], the family is in debt and up past its collective eyebrows in shady dealings, though very few commoners and only a handful of noble families and courtiers know this. Some nobles personally know the cavils and worth (not much) of individual Arcantlets, but in general, if nobles or courtiers or the wider Cormyrean public have any attitude at all toward House Arcantlet, it’s to overlook them - - and if faced by the fact of their existence, to pigeonhole them as “one of those minor noble families; no coin, few in number, probably deservedly so.”
Nesgarl would have very seldom visited Suzail (perhaps once a year or so) and spent much of his youth at Cantergates, being transferred to one of several expanded farmhouses somewhere in the farms east of the Wyvernflow once his brother Talryn became Lord Arcantlet and wanted Cantergates to himself (mainly to remove witnesses to his carousings and shady dealings).
These farms, by the way (their actual number and extent have expanded and shrunk over the years, in accordance with family fortunes), are collectively known as “the Windcoast” to the family, though that’s a name anyone else will search for in vain on any maps (yes, the country is windy, and it’s near but not on the coast, though seabreezes - - and mists, blown ashore - - can often be experienced there). The farmhouse Nesgarl was installed in can have any name you want it to, but yes, he would have been surrounded by bodyguards charged with keeping him safe, keeping the farm and its crops safe - - and keeping watch over Nesgarl and his doings.
Nesgarl having a woman (Lorna) would (although it would originally have been Lalustra’s plan, also with an eye to controlling her son without having to openly seem to do so) be viewed with approval by Talryn because, in his thinking, it would keep Nesgarl busy. That is, keep him from perhaps getting restless and starting to do things on his own (such as relocate to Suzail, where he might draw attention to the wider family and cause War Wizards or others to peer at “what the Arcantlets might be up to”).
Now, if Lorna had been the “take me to the bright lights and feasts of Suzail right now” sort, rather than the “train me to arms, bodyguards of the house” sort, Lalustra or Talryn might have “taken care of her” early on . . . but as it happened, she served her purpose until Nesgarl’s removal became necessary.
So that’s our first possible noble family. Houses Bryarn, Haldoneir, and Sorndrake should follow, in the fullness of time (though I am tearingly busy right now, and the fierce winter weather locally isn’t helping matters, eating up spare time with difficult driving and shoveling, shoveling, and more #$@%! shoveling). We’ll see.
So saith Ed. Worldbuilder extraordinaire.
And Zandilar: Hi, and a good guess. Off to Ed it goes, to see if it's right (I'm not thinking so, myself, following the same misgivings you have, but . . .)
love to all,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2009 : 03:18:59
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And this just in, from Ed:
Amarel Derakanor, you're very welcome. Don't be shy about asking more questions, though it can sometimes take me literally years to get around to answering them.
Zandilar, great to hear from you. Sorry, Myrmeen Lhal didn't pen that particular work. Though I can certainly picture her enjoying a perusal of it . . . :}
So saith Ed. The Rapidly Tiring Tireless Snow Shoveller.
love to all,
THO
Edit: typo fix. |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 30 Jan 2009 03:19:40 |
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2009 : 03:30:15
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Heya,
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Zandilar, great to hear from you. Sorry, Myrmeen Lhal didn't pen that particular work. Though I can certainly picture her enjoying a perusal of it . . . :}
I can too! |
Zandilar
~amor vincit omnia~
~audaces fortuna iuvat~
As the spell ends, you look up into the sky to see the sun blazing overhead like noon in a desert. Then something else in the sky catches your attention. Turning your gaze, you see a tawny furred kitten bounding across the sky towards the new sun. Her eyes glint a mischevious green as she pounces on it as if it were nothing but a colossal ball of golden yarn. With quick strokes of her paws, it is batted across the sky, back and forth. Then with a wink the kitten and the sun disappear, leaving the citizens of Elversult gazing up with amazed expressions that quickly turn into chortles and mirth.
The Sunlord left Elversult the same day in humilitation, and was never heard from again. |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3240 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2009 : 05:47:27
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| Methinks that when Ed is done responding to Daviot, many scribes will be rejoicing (as I am) and Daviot will have a difficult (but fun!) decision on which family to use... |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2009)
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