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Zandilar
Learned Scribe

Australia
313 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2009 :  06:50:32  Show Profile  Visit Zandilar's Homepage Send Zandilar a Private Message
Heya,

quote:
Originally posted by Bladewind
Is it possible for a farmers third or second child to learn the Art or the Power (clandestinely) or do economic barriers help stop such a family to achieve an easy way out of their low station? I can imagine arcane academies having large fees just as todays top academic schooling has. Are there any unscrupulous mages who have seen this as an oppurtunity to get money and influence from the lower and less wealthy parts of Fearuns societies? Or are there hidden dangers to a teacher in the Art that I am overlooking that stop them from teaching magic to large amounts of people?



Not wanting to address everything in your post (as I'm not Ed, and I'm also interested in hearing what he has to say about it), I thought I'd point out that there are a lot of nations that will probably come at this from different points of view. There aren't really that many big Academies or Universities or what have you dedicated to teaching the Art in the Realms, and therefore isn't really likely to be an obstacle to people, unless they're in a country where that is the only way to learn. There are many practitioners of the Art who take on apprentices, and aren't always picky in who they choose - the biggest example that springs to mind is Blackstaff tower. I'm pretty sure the pupils there are stringently screened, but their social class is not something that's looked at.

Priest training (which I presume you meant when you mentioned the Power) is another kettle of fish, I can see there may well be a larger variety, and not all churches dedicated a particular god will treat it the same way - especially churches dedicated to Chaotic gods.

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.

Edited by - Zandilar on 17 Sep 2009 06:51:19
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe

South Africa
729 Posts

Posted - 17 Sep 2009 :  08:03:28  Show Profile  Visit Kyrene's Homepage Send Kyrene a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One

That is, one of the two dancers takes two smooth steps right "at" or "into" the dance partner they're holding, who gives way two steps in unison - - only to then take two steps forward whilst the first dancer gives way.

Is there a pause (or a stationary step) after the second step?

Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore

5056 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2009 :  00:25:44  Show Profile  Visit The Hooded One's Homepage Send The Hooded One a Private Message
Hi again, all. Ed’s latest e-mail to me included this snippet of Realmslore, in response to maransreth’s query from just-before-mid February of this year: “What do people use for pain relief? Non-clerical specifically. I take it herbs and barks, but what exactly?”
Ed replies:



In my original Realms, I used real-world herblore. That is, both fact and fictional beliefs of what various plant substances (sap, leaves, distillates, inhaling the smoke from various combinations of leaves, barks, flowers, saps, and so on) could do as medicinal treatments. I figured this was a great basis to start from, being as none of my players were foolish enough to confuse the real world with my fantasy Realms, and I could devote my creative energies to extrapolating from this herblore (effects on humans) to how these substances would affect various other intelligent races and monsters (is something beneficial to human poisonous to orcs? or gnomes? or dragons? does something that heals dragons also heal wyverns?).
However, TSR was a little wary of this approach, I suspect (and these are just my suspicions; even a direct discussion was avoided, several times) for two reasons: the anti-drug view in the US that began with the establishment decrying recreational drugs (aside from the “establishment drugs” of tobacco and alcohol, though those have since been frowned upon) and extended into “don’t treat yourself with those old folk remedies, buy our expensive pill instead” (which might well lead to the game being banned in certain jurisdictions for this as WELL as the then-very-strong “Satanist” fears) . . . and the liability of “what happens if Johnny puts X on a cut he gets, because he read about someone doing that in his Realms game book, and then Johnny dies; whither the lawsuits then?”
Now, those are fair, valid arguments for any published fantasy game setting.
So I switched to what we might call “clearly invented medicine.” As in, let’s use “matter from the eyeball of a beholder” and other monsters that are clearly GAME inventions and not from folklore, and plants I invent myself. Now, there’s still some peril in using invented plants, because as anyone who studies anything about real-world plants knows, a single plant goes by so many different names around the world, or a “good” plant name gets applied to so many different real-world plants . . . but I persisted, and eventually came up with these “common in the Realms” ones:

Chewing the soft wood that directly underlies the bark of a felsul tree, or chewing small datherthorn roots (those of purplish hue) quells nausea and deadens all mouth, tooth, and throat pain. Note that this does NOTHING to remove the cause of the discomfort; it merely temporarily removes the discomfort to allow sleep, hearty eating, or other “normal” activity/functions. Eating a volume roughly as much as the eater’s palm, as thick as the eater’s hand, will “work” (deaden) for a day and night (24 hours) or so.

Drinking the liquid derived from boiling down equal parts of the thorns snapped off harl-thorn (a common Heartlands thorny wild shrub) bushes with leaves of the very common weed known as hoof-leaf (because its flat, on-the-ground leaves look like the print of a cloven-hoofed herd animal; these leaves need not be fresh, which is why many households keep a crock of various dried leaves, wrapped in scrap cloth, for use in winter) calms delirium, rage, and grief, and soothes skin itches, allowing for rest or sleep.

Eating small flakes of tatterskyre bark (the tatterskyre is a gnarled shrub that tends to form “loops” or drooping arcs like wild raspberry canes, re-rooting when it touches the ground only to throw up fresh stems; it grows all over the Heartlands and the North, smaller in colder climes, and its bark is very “flaky” as easily brushed off; its foliage sprouts as “bursts” of needle-like flat leaves all up and down its stems) slows bleeding (both internal and external) and thickens the blood, soothing and making agitated folk drowsy. This can aid the healing of many sorts of internal wounds.
Orcs and all goblinkin (goblins, hobgoblins, et al) are especially susceptible to the effects of tatterskyre bark, and typically fall asleep if given as much to eat as would cover their palms. As this is a sleep typically filled with pleasant dreams, many orcs gather and carry the bark, and eat it regularly.

The tiny petals of the common white ground-flower known as “dathlil” work to neutralize poisons for some who consume them (typically washed down with water or even alcohol, or drunk as a tea). The effects vary widely with the individual and the poison being fought against, and even vary unpredictably for the same individual, over time, but do apply to all known creatures, mammalian, avian, and reptilian, and are sometimes (not often) absolute (as in, one petal banishes all poison effects). Dathlil can work on contact, ingested, and insinuative poisons - - but of course sometimes does nothing at all. For most individuals, it usually slows poison and lessens its eventual damage.

Tonandurr bark, bound against open wounds, inhibits bleeding and infection, and helps skin and flesh to expand and knit together (heal). This works on humans, halflings, dwarves, and gnomes only; to elves, it helps not at all, and it actually harms goblinkin, making wounds fester. (Tonandurr is a tall, spindly “weed tree” of the Heartlands and more southerly forests; it’s not hardy enough to survive winters much north of Waterdeep, though some few specimens are kept alive in indoor gardens in Silverymoon and Neverwinter.



Again, I’d like to reiterate that the above examples do NOT apply to any real-world plant matter, even if someone somewhere happens to have given a plant the same or a similar name as the invented ones in my examples, okay?



So saith Ed. Growing more cautious (socially responsible) in his old age.
love to all,
THO

Edited by - The Hooded One on 18 Sep 2009 00:32:40
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore

5056 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2009 :  00:39:20  Show Profile  Visit The Hooded One's Homepage Send The Hooded One a Private Message
Kyrene, Ed says:


Well spotted, and thank you! I forgot to write that in: it is indeed two steps, then a "flourish" for a beat (the time it would take to make one step; the "flourish is instead both dancers remaining stationary below the waists, but flinging their arms up and bending backwards a bit at the waists from each other), then the two steps back.
Well caught; thank you!

So saith Ed. Who's obviously not as good at the dance as Kyrene is! Well caught, indeed!
love,
THO
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Marek
Seeker

Italy
52 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2009 :  11:39:43  Show Profile  Visit Marek's Homepage Send Marek a Private Message
One more question!

After Khelben's death, who takes charge of the Moon Stars?
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore

1864 Posts

Posted - 18 Sep 2009 :  21:00:37  Show Profile  Visit Icelander's Homepage Send Icelander a Private Message
Quick question, hopefully not covered by an NDA and perhaps even answerable by the Lady Hooded One without bothering Ed:

What were the roles* of Moriath, Bralagar Winterhand and Tzarrakyn the Elder in the Company of Crazed Venturers? And if possible, a short description of them. Do any of them still live in 1373 DR, at least as far as published Realmslore is concerned?

*Arcane spellcaster, melee combatant, spymaster, negotiator, etc. What was their utility to their fellow adventurers, which can be as simple as their D&D class or as complex as listing their various areas of competence, all according to the time the Lady Hooded One or Ed have to spare on it. I'd rather have it quick and incomplete than late and perfect. ;)

Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!

Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Randal_Dundragon
Seeker

USA
95 Posts

Posted - 19 Sep 2009 :  05:13:25  Show Profile Send Randal_Dundragon a Private Message
Hey Ed, Ive actually got a question that doesn't necessarily have to do with the realms (then again it does). My question is, when you originally designed the realms, what exactly was your focus? i guess im just trying to figure out what your basic battle plan was :)

Ive been trying to create my own home brew campaign for a while now, and ive always wondered what your Advice would be when doing so.

Thanks in advance.

Its simple really, Your an idiot and I'm simply a figment of your imagination
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore

5056 Posts

Posted - 19 Sep 2009 :  17:50:10  Show Profile  Visit The Hooded One's Homepage Send The Hooded One a Private Message
Hi again, all.
Some quick partial replies from me (waiting on Ed, who should be along late today or tomorrow):
As far as I know, all three of those Crazed Venturers you mention, Icelander, ARE still alive as of 1373 DR (albeit Moriath and Tzarrakyn after several resurrections back in the 1350s-1360s). Published canon Realmslore definitely says nothing about demises for any of them.
Randal, Ed designed the Realms first as a fictional setting, semi-detailed around the travels of Mirt, who was moving in a southerly direction along the Sword Coast from port to port, one step ahead of creditors, trade rivals, and out-and-out "kill ye when I catch ye" enemies.
However, later on, when he was making it also a game setting, I know he designed from the "home base" of the adventurers (Waterdeep, or Shadowdale, or Eveningstar; he had three) outwards. In other words, where they'd live or stay first, the neighbourhood NPCs and all the rumors, news, and subplots going on locally that might lure them into alliances, feuds, and adventures, then any "dungeons" or ruins or monster lairs or fortresses-in-use where they might "go adventuring," and then the wider world around, starting with the immediate roads and trade routes, then the flows of trade, then the "larger" legal authority (and enforcement) of whatever ruler held sway over the starting spot, and then outwards from there (i.e. if Waterdeep's at peace rather than at war or preparing for it, that tells you something about Waterdeep's neighbours and region, and becomes part of the wider socio-political design).
Ah, well, enough "here's the process" blathering from me; Ed will give us more hard and fast lore and replies as soon as he can.
love to all,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore

5056 Posts

Posted - 19 Sep 2009 :  17:57:14  Show Profile  Visit The Hooded One's Homepage Send The Hooded One a Private Message
Hi again, all.
A swift public service bulletin for gamers interested in meeting Ed, getting autographs, hearing him speak, and possibly getting in a game with him as DM:
Ed will be attending the Phantasm gaming convention as usual next weekend (September 26the and 27th) in Peterborough, Ontario at the Peterborough Public Library (main downtown branch on Aylmer Street, in the basement). Ed will be there Saturday evening to give his annual "state of gaming/answer queries" talk, and at least the first half of Sunday. This is a small, cozy local con that's been running for, if I remember rightly, over 20 years (and has in the past had such distinguished Guests of Honour as Richard and Lily Garfield, senior designers from TSR and FASA, and of course Ed). The con has a website, for those interested.
love to all,
THO
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe

USA
804 Posts

Posted - 19 Sep 2009 :  18:07:13  Show Profile  Visit Blueblade's Homepage Send Blueblade a Private Message
Darn! Wish I could be there; D&D with Ed is always a lot of fun. A Realmslore question, please: if a ship (or for that matter, a small rowboat, barge, or skiff) sinks in the harbors of either Suzail or Marsember, in the 1370s DR, how soon is it raised or cleared away? Have any wrecks been "missed" and lost in the muck, so locals might well remember them from rumors but the local authorities genuinely not know exactly where they are, if they still exist, and/or what state they're in?
And finally, if aquatic nasties try to use a wreck as a lair and prey on cats, dogs, pigeons, sailors, and dockworkers around the harbor, how long could they be expected to "get away with it," if they strike only by night and VERY cautiously? Before a large-scale "scour them out" operation involving priests and wizards would be mounted?
Thanks!
BB
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bladeinAmn
Learned Scribe

199 Posts

Posted - 19 Sep 2009 :  19:55:18  Show Profile  Visit bladeinAmn's Homepage Send bladeinAmn a Private Message
Randal_Dundragon, Ed answers some of your question at loremaster. Check the September 17th 2009 entry:

http://www.loremaster.org/vbinterviews.php?do=showinterview&id=6

The September 18th, 2009 entry is also in the same vein of your question. A really good read, so I posted it here.

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Randal_Dundragon
Seeker

USA
95 Posts

Posted - 20 Sep 2009 :  07:58:49  Show Profile Send Randal_Dundragon a Private Message
Thanks blade and to the hooded one, just a random question wanted answered :)

Its simple really, Your an idiot and I'm simply a figment of your imagination
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Sage of Stars
Seeker

USA
59 Posts

Posted - 20 Sep 2009 :  17:20:21  Show Profile  Visit Sage of Stars's Homepage Send Sage of Stars a Private Message
Dear Ed,
What's this I'm hearing about you working on the script for the first Hobbit movie?
Or is this something you're constrained from discussing (or even admitting)?
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A Publishing Lackey
Seeker

74 Posts

Posted - 20 Sep 2009 :  17:26:39  Show Profile  Visit A Publishing Lackey's Homepage Send A Publishing Lackey a Private Message
Heh, that's a rumor that's been quietly working its way around the industry for some time now.
I have an industry question related to the Google publishing mess: being as they intend to publish "unavailable" (OOP) works, some of us have been trying to track how many languages certain authors have been published in (being as foreign-language editions still on sale maintain a copyright). Can Ed or THO tell us how many languages they know of, that Ed's works have been published in? (Comics, lyrics, short stories, poetry, scripts; the works, not just the novels.) I've come up with 38 languages, thus far. I'm hoping that if Ed's figure is far different from mine, scribes from around the world can chime in with languages they've seen Ed's stuff printed in...
Oh, and did anyone ever correctly guess the authorship of Filfaeril Bound And Willing?
Thanks!
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe

USA
804 Posts

Posted - 20 Sep 2009 :  17:28:34  Show Profile  Visit Blueblade's Homepage Send Blueblade a Private Message
Nope, no one has. Not yet.
At least, not here at the Keep, in the forums. Quite a few scribes who have guessed haven't yet used all three of their allowed guesses, though.
Me, I've given up and am just waiting for Ed to tell us. Patiently.

BB

Edited by - Blueblade on 23 Sep 2009 02:02:55
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe

242 Posts

Posted - 20 Sep 2009 :  17:30:20  Show Profile  Visit Malcolm's Homepage Send Malcolm a Private Message
Hah! Patient, my left-side nose-hairs!
Has any other scribe been following Ed's interview at the Grognardia blog, of James Malizewski (probably got that surname wrong, sorry)?

Edited by - Malcolm on 20 Sep 2009 17:32:29
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe

Canada
161 Posts

Posted - 20 Sep 2009 :  17:34:34  Show Profile  Visit Baleful Avatar's Homepage Send Baleful Avatar a Private Message
No, but I'll check it out.
I can't keep up with Ed: Paizo, Open Design, Facebook, here at the Keep, Loremaster, this Grognardia blog now, Wizards, Tor, Solaris, DAW, Morrigan Books and all of the other places he gets published; does the man ever SLEEP?
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Broken Helm
Learned Scribe

USA
108 Posts

Posted - 20 Sep 2009 :  17:36:45  Show Profile  Visit Broken Helm's Homepage Send Broken Helm a Private Message
Hah! What is this "sleep" you speak of?
Me, I'm dedicated to denying Ed sleep for the rest of his life! I intend to keep him busy answering endless lore questions, like: so, Ed, WILL you be writing stuff for this new company Frank Mentzer, Jim Ward, and Tim Kask are starting (as reported at Dragonfoot)?
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe

South Africa
729 Posts

Posted - 21 Sep 2009 :  10:03:27  Show Profile  Visit Kyrene's Homepage Send Kyrene a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One

Kyrene, Ed says:


Well spotted, and thank you! I forgot to write that in: it is indeed two steps, then a "flourish" for a beat (the time it would take to make one step; the "flourish is instead both dancers remaining stationary below the waists, but flinging their arms up and bending backwards a bit at the waists from each other), then the two steps back.
Well caught; thank you!

So saith Ed. Who's obviously not as good at the dance as Kyrene is! Well caught, indeed!
love,
THO


Oh, think nothing of it. I was merely wondering if there would be enough time during the "flourish" (yes, that is a much better word for it) to do something more: like perhaps a quick twirl of one or both partners, or the "rock back" step like in the two-step. I then noticed that the beat was missing...

I would definately try this dance as a variation to the waltz.

Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 21 Sep 2009 :  16:46:48  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Sage of Stars

Dear Ed,
What's this I'm hearing about you working on the script for the first Hobbit movie?
Or is this something you're constrained from discussing (or even admitting)?



This sounds like a loose rumour to me. Then again, I pay little attention to the movie plans.

And what Google publishing mess?
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe

USA
804 Posts

Posted - 21 Sep 2009 :  18:53:12  Show Profile  Visit Blueblade's Homepage Send Blueblade a Private Message
Jorkens, I agree; sounds like mere rumor to me, too.

As for the Google publishing mess, A Publishing Lackey means the plan by Google to make out of print fiction works in English available online, without asking permission from the authors, UNLESS authors register to "opt out."
In other words, if you don't discover that we're going to do this and tell us to stop in a certain way (online) by a certain date, your books will be made available to everyone online, regardless of current copyright status, legal entanglements, outstanding rights (such as a movie or television option that hasn't yet expired, foreign language editions still in print that will face sales losses because someone using Google's local translation will now be able to obtain a novel without actually buying the book), etc.
I say "mess" because I might well be describing Google's position incorrectly (because they have stated it in several different ways over the previous year, as objections have arisen), and because of those objections: the U.S. Justice Department has objected to this Google plan, Amazon has objected, various groups (e.g. the Author's Guild, SFWA, the romance and mystery writers' associations in the US, and so on) have taken various positions on it - - and of course no one in any other country but the US has even been directly notified, let alone consulted.
So as of right now nothing's been settled, everything is in confusion, various American judges have issued various injunctions and rulings, and many parties (NOT writers, by and large, because they lack the money to do so) are now "lawyering up" for the big fight.
I have no idea what position Ed or THO hold on this, BTW, but most successful genre writers and their agents are furious, because it means no book can ever be "resold" after it's been unavailable for years. (Some of the less successful ones are hopeful their works will reach a wider audience, so long as they get compensated, but exactly what compensation will be paid to writers, and how, has been murky, too.) Also, many print publishers will probably never admit, ever again, that a work they've published is going out of print, to keep it out of Google's clutches (unless THEY sell it to Google, perhaps without the author's involvement or knowledge).
Whatever happens, many countries (the UK included) are going to wake up and have to hastily amend their long-standing copyright laws to reflect or address "whatever happens."
All of which means . . . "mess" is a good word.
Wizards of the Coast and other large game publishers will probably largely avoid this, because Hasbro has a large and energetic legal department used to protecting its trademarks, copyrights, and intellectual properties.
Sorry to inject a lot of real-world, unfun "lore" into this thread, but it DOES directly affect Ed Greenwood's career, works, and perhaps how lore (including Realmslore) will be published in the future, so it IS relevant.
And to further bolster that relevance: care to comment, THO or Ed?
Thanks!
BB

Edited by - Blueblade on 21 Sep 2009 18:58:04
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A Publishing Lackey
Seeker

74 Posts

Posted - 21 Sep 2009 :  19:03:38  Show Profile  Visit A Publishing Lackey's Homepage Send A Publishing Lackey a Private Message
Whew. Nicely put, Blueblade. I was sitting here pondering just HOW to explain the Google thing to Jorkens, when your post appeared. You've done as good a job as is possible, I think.
Everything IS confusion . . . and, yes, a "mess."
We'll just have to see what unfolds.
In the meantime, back to Realmslore! Ed and THO, my question this time is: how well does the average, stay-at-home citizen in a port city on the Sword Coast (Baldur's Gate, say, or Neverwinter, or Athkatla, or Murann) know the geography of what's nearby, inland? What roads lead where, known disputes or trouble areas for monsters or brigands, crops grown or stuff mined or logged, that sort of thing? Inland politics (either in their own realm or neighboring)?
Thank you.
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore

1864 Posts

Posted - 22 Sep 2009 :  07:55:40  Show Profile  Visit Icelander's Homepage Send Icelander a Private Message
It seems greedy in the extreme to impose again, but indulgence has always bred an unwarranted sense of entitlement in the spoilt and wicked (among whose ranks you will find me, sleek and happy).

I'm looking for a noble family of Cormyr that was considered iconic and part of the realm's history (and if possible, its very identity) for a long time, but somehow fell from grace before the war with the Witch Kings and was stripped of all titles and lands.

If it could tie into the earliest history of the Forest Kingdom, that would be even better.

I'm going to have a surviving scion of the house have provided personal service to the King in the war against the Witch King and been restored to his anscestral rights, but died before he could claim the rights.

Without my players' knowledge, an adventure they took part in a several years ago (real time, the time in-game is just over a year) resulted in evidence being unearthed that allowed the current heir of the family to prove his status and enter upon the long and difficult task of joining the ranks of Cormyr's fair nobles. His relationship with the Dragon Throne will be helped in no small way by the fact that he is a warrior of courage and skill (who has ruled a minor duchy in the Border Kingdoms until now) and has 'more innate honour and nobility than a ten titles could give him', in the words of Caladnei after being allowed to probe his mind throughly.

Now I wonder what family name to give this scion, since the player characters will meet him within a few sessions.

Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!

Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe

USA
804 Posts

Posted - 22 Sep 2009 :  16:19:24  Show Profile  Visit Blueblade's Homepage Send Blueblade a Private Message
Dear Ed and THO,
Apropos of the geography question posted by A Publishing Lackey, above, I have a supplementary, for Murann only:
How quickly does news and rumor usually travel from inland Tethyr to Murann? And vice versea? And how often/how badly does it usually get distorted, in the process?
Thanks!
BB
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gomez
Learned Scribe

Netherlands
254 Posts

Posted - 22 Sep 2009 :  20:38:15  Show Profile  Visit gomez's Homepage Send gomez a Private Message
I am using an unaligned cleric of Malar in my current campaign (THO should know which one).
While I have a fair idea on how she became a cleric, and can still be considered unaligned, I run into people who balk at the idea. So I am looking for more context to place her in and give her some sympathy.
So, are there any known Malar-worshipping hunts (including clerics) that are non-evil? Particularly the Moonsea area, but can be anywhere. How do these groups interpret Malar's will?
Both pre- and post-plague may be of interest. )

Also, though I suspect it is NDA, I am intersted on whether and how Malar's behavior (or attitude) changed after leaving Talos and coming under the influence of Silvanus.
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uaintjak
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2009 :  01:27:40  Show Profile  Visit uaintjak's Homepage Send uaintjak a Private Message
This is mostly a question for THO, I guess, though I'll certainly take any answer I can get.

The Knights of Myth Drannor were really what sold me on the whole Realms...I'm not entirely sure why, as their background in the old grey box set is relatively sparse. Nevertheless, they're what made me fall in love with the Realms before I even got past the "Adventuring Companies" chapter in that old beat up book.

Ok, now to the question. You've mentioned before that the "core" Knights (Florin, Jhessail, Illistyl, Doust, etc) were only about a third or so of the actual roster, but we've never seen or heard about any of the others (as far as I know). I'd like to introduce my players to some of the lesser known (unknown) Knights, without them knowing just who they're tangling with. Would it be possible to get some basic info on some of those "lesser" Knights? I still use a combo of 1st/2nd ed. rules, so "Vedellen Hawkhand (NG hem R1)" is really all I'm looking for, if it doesn't violate any NDA. Heck, even just name, race, and class would be great, as I can adapt them to fit my group's levels and temperaments...but with still somewhat of an official Realms flare.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe

USA
804 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2009 :  02:02:14  Show Profile  Visit Blueblade's Homepage Send Blueblade a Private Message
uaintjak, I'm not THO or Ed, but I can help a little, I think.
One of the Knights was a female cleric (of what, I can't remember) named Eressea Ambergyles, and there was briefly a Nehwonian ghoul (female transparent flesh over visible skeleton) named Lacheera (I think) adventuring with the Knights (don't know if she officially was a Knight or not), and Mourngrym Amcathra (the Lord of Shadowdale after Doust) was a Knight, as was Aumark Lithyl, who was a young noble of Ruathym and left the Knights to return home when family deaths left him suddenly heir to the rulership of that land . . . and the ranger Sharantyr (of the Rangers Three) was also a Knight. These are just who I can remember from many short conversations with Ed at GenCons (and a Great Canadian Baycon, too), down the years.
If more pop back into my mind, I'll post again - - unless Ed or THO beat me to it, of course.
BB
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe

242 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2009 :  02:06:38  Show Profile  Visit Malcolm's Homepage Send Malcolm a Private Message
Was Dove Falconhand (Florin's bride, formerly Dove Silverhand, of the Seven Sisters) ever officially a Knight?
And didn't Ed once say that Lacheera came to the Knights as the companion of Tamper Tencoin? Was HE ever a member?
Hmm. The depths of my ignorance yawn, they do . . .
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore

5056 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2009 :  02:15:07  Show Profile  Visit The Hooded One's Homepage Send The Hooded One a Private Message
Hi again, all. Great questions re. both the Crazed Venturers and the Knights, but I'm not going to reply to them until I've checked with Ed (there ARE some NDAs buzzing around some characters, and I want to be VERY sure what's "allowed" and what's not, when I start typing).
This time, Ed tackles this recent query, from Blueblade: "How quickly does news and rumor usually travel from inland Tethyr to Murann? And vice versa? And how often/how badly does it usually get distorted, in the process? Thanks!"
Ed replies:

Just before the Spellplague, I'd say coastal stuff, nobles' scandals and deaths, massacres and major news OR rumors of the "dragon flying in to devour herds or attack a town" or "brigand massacre in X!" sort would take two tendays or less to reach Murann. Big news from either of the "next along the coastal road" communities, 2 days or so. Minor stuff (three black cows born where none known before) might take a month, or five tendays at most. Interestingly, in Tethyr, the distortions tend to get wild when the news travels fast, rather than being twisted along the way when it travels slowly (the reverse of what happens in most of the rest of the Realms). Yes, some manglings are severe - - but in Tethyr, since the Black Days, the populace has learned to be wary and suspicious, and corrections/debunkings soon follow, and tend to be believed (even when themselves wrong). In short, almost all Tethyrian coastal port dwellers are cynical and worldly-wise . . . or like to think of themselves as so.


So saith Ed, creator of Tethyr, Murann, and most of the Realms around them.
love to all,
THO
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uaintjak
Acolyte

14 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2009 :  15:07:18  Show Profile  Visit uaintjak's Homepage Send uaintjak a Private Message
Thanks for the swift replies. Blue, I knew about Sharantyr, Mourngrym, Dove, etc (to me, they count on the roster as more of the "well known" Knights). Aumark Lithyl I know about from FR7 (in fact. the entire reason I bought that was to get more on the history of the Knights). I always assumed Aumark Lithyl was a cavalier, due to his being replaced by Mourngrym, though I could of course be wrong on that score. Eressea Ambyergyles was a cleric of Tymora, btw (hey, I know my grey box stuff).

Stupid questions begetting more questions! Thinking of FR7 made me think of two more questions. Were Alura "Pennae" Durshavin, Agannor Wildsilver, Bey Freemantle, and Martess Ilmra (and thank goodness she finally got a last name, can't tell you how long that's bugged me) run by players or as NPCs?

Second question. I know that the Company of Eight was created by Steven Schend (I think that's who it was) but when reading their history in FR7, I came across the names of former Eight members, whose names sounded distinctly Greenwoodian (for lack of a better term). I'm thinking of Kaleene Thalwood, Mirthal Aendryr, Thiel Ralmun, and Chiaelin Frendel. Did Ed create these characters to give the Company some history, or did Steven?
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