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Arravis
Seeker
USA
93 Posts |
 Posted - 04 May 2009 : 17:47:29
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I was curious if anyone knew of a map of the stars and such in the sky above Faerun.
I found this info on it, but no map: http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/stars.htm
As a illustrator, graphic designer, and employee of a certain American space agency, I may be in a unique position to make one myself, but I'm wondering if there is already one done. Thanks guys!
-Arravis
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2009 : 18:24:33
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I say: Dont hold back when you can boldly go where none have gone before!
My current character (called Lynx) would fare well with a mapping of the night's sky. Stars, comets, planets and Selune and her tears guide the prophesies of this faithfull servant of Sehanine Moonbow so an accurate map would serve him to no end. |
My campaign sketches
Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
Edited by - Bladewind on 04 May 2009 18:25:32 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2009 : 19:27:07
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We've barely been given any info on what is in the night sky... Most of the references, other than Selūne and her Tears, are one-off references to constellations, scattered across a bunch of novels.
There's a little bit in Realmspace, as well, but even that isn't overly informative.
Ed likely has detailed starcharts for the Realms, but nothing like that has seen print. |
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Arravis
Seeker
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2009 : 20:26:12
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| Might take a little while... but I'll see what I can do :). |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2009 : 22:29:36
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There was a sort-of magical orrery that had a map of the night sky of Toril in the first Erevis Cale series.
It was a gem-studded sphere, where all the gems represented stars. It had some significance in predicting certain events in the novels.
Aside from some minor descriptive text, I don't recall anything specific about constellations or what-not. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 04 May 2009 22:30:50 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2009 : 00:56:19
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There hasn't been anything like that in the published Realmslore. But there certainly are constellations, and the info contained in that scroll you've linked to could possibly assist you in plotting one out for yourself [I wouldn't mind seeing the result, since I love this kinda stuff about the Realms].
And Ed's touched on the subject of specific constellations in his previous replies. I suggest you perform a search through the compiled reply files. [See the "So Saith Ed" link in my sig]
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 05 May 2009 00:59:16 |
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2009 : 18:51:40
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I'd be extremely happy to see such a map! *all available thumbs up* 
If you really create a map, please remember to include Selune (the moon) plus the asteroid cluster called "Selune's Tears" that trail behind it. There was some information about their placement somewhere on the web, but I forgot where exactly that was. I'll try to dig it out in the next few days...
Anyway, here's a picture from the trailer of Neverwinter Nights 2 depicting Selune and her Tears:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23109322@N00/3032133642/ |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2009 : 19:57:10
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly RupertI dunno... I always pictured them strung out a bit more, and fewer in number.
dito. the screenshot looks a bit too much like disney for my taste - but afaik it is the only picture of the Tears we have. That doesn't mean a map opf the night sky couldn't be different - and better.   |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 03:46:58
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I agree.
Its a nice pic regardless, but it looks a bit too much like the tail of a comet for my taste. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 07 May 2009 03:47:55 |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 07:18:55
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EREVIS CALE SPOILER!!!
Is there any non-Kemp material that refers to the Sojourner pulling one of the Tears over Selune then letting it crumble, or at least the after-effects? |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
Edited by - Arion Elenim on 07 May 2009 07:20:53 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 08:00:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Arion Elenim
EREVIS CALE SPOILER!!!
Is there any non-Kemp material that refers to the Sojourner pulling one of the Tears over Selune then letting it crumble, or at least the after-effects?
Dragons of Faerun, I think it is, has some lore that takes place after those events. Basically, the towers in Amn? Tethyr? Calimshan? were rebuilt. I can't remember where that temple was located. :) Least thats how I recall it.... or was the towers destroyed? It's one or the other. :)
Aye, my memory isn't that good about those events because I wasn't really interested in those novels and the events that happened within them, so I blocked out the text that was written in later sourcebooks. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
Edited by - Kuje on 07 May 2009 18:03:18 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 08:07:57
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As I recall, it was largely part of the continuity problem due to the concurrent development of PoF and Paul's Midnight's Mask novel. Eric said that both George and Paul helped to determine an explanation that he could manage to work into DoF. Eric's details in DoF reconcile the apparent contradiction that exists between Power of Faerūn and Paul's novel.
More from Eric -
"Actually three things happened to the Twin Towers. Two things happened to one tower (Midnight's Mask and Power of Faerun) and one thing happened to the other (to be revealed).
The explanation of the chain of events (and the 3rd event) appears in an upcoming product.
If you're gaming in 1374, assume the starting situation is as defined in Power of Faerun and ends as defined in Power of Faerun.
--Eric" |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 14:35:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Its a nice pic regardless, but it looks a bit too much like the tail of a comet for my taste.
I agree, it's definitely not what I've pictured in my head (I've seen that shot before though, btw). |
"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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Brian R. James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
1098 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 15:17:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Arion Elenim
Is there any non-Kemp material that refers to the Sojourner pulling one of the Tears over Selune then letting it crumble, or at least the after-effects?
I believe Arion Elenim was referring to the meteor event known as the Rain of Fire. It is indeed mentioned in the Grand History of the Realms on page 154. Most of the devastation was centered on the lands of the Inner Sea and Sembia in particular. Between that event and an untimely drought, Sembia was in rough shape in the years leading up to Netheril's annexation. |
Brian R. James - Freelance Game Designer
Follow me on Twitter @brianrjames |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 16:22:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Brian R. James
quote:
Originally posted by Arion Elenim
Is there any non-Kemp material that refers to the Sojourner pulling one of the Tears over Selune then letting it crumble, or at least the after-effects?
I believe Arion Elenim was referring to the meteor event known as the Rain of Fire. It is indeed mentioned in the Grand History of the Realms on page 154. Most of the devastation was centered on the lands of the Inner Sea and Sembia in particular. Between that event and an untimely drought, Sembia was in rough shape in the years leading up to Netheril's annexation.
Ah - ha. Thank you o wise one!
I'll also amend that to the following: In my own campaign, while they only skirted the edge of the Twilight War, I decided to allow the party, upon their return from a different plane to notice that indeed, one of the Tears was gone (the party having missed the aftermath entirely).
This worked well because it gave them a sense of impermanancy with their world (one of the PCs said 'what else is left if we can't even trust the stars?'), and made them feel (eroneously, of course) that they had something to do with it.
Anyway, digression aside and long story short, I did this because I figured it would be inevitable that most of Faerun would notice this change even if they weren't affected by the destruction. But is there any other mention of a Tear missing or anyone doing any investigation as to why it's gone who wasn't involved in the whole affair? |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 17:14:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Arion Elenim
Anyway, digression aside and long story short, I did this because I figured it would be inevitable that most of Faerun would notice this change even if they weren't affected by the destruction. But is there any other mention of a Tear missing or anyone doing any investigation as to why it's gone who wasn't involved in the whole affair?
Two questions... Where would such an investigation begin? And why would someone assume there was anything to investigate? With things pertaining to the sky, I'd imagine it's pretty easy to simply assume deific involvement. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 18:13:35
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Aside from Spelljammers (wich have mostly been ignored for two editions now), and a few lonely Sages who need to get out more, I don't think any groundlings really bother to keep track of the Tears, in regards to how many there really are, or bother to even name any of them.
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
As I recall, it was largely part of the continuity problem due to the concurrent development of PoF and Paul's Midnight's Mask novel. <snip>
More from Eric -
"Actually three things happened to the Twin Towers. Two things happened to one tower (Midnight's Mask and Power of Faerun) and one thing happened to the other (to be revealed).
The explanation of the chain of events (and the 3rd event) appears in an upcoming product.
If you're gaming in 1374, assume the starting situation is as defined in Power of Faerun and ends as defined in Power of Faerun."
Damn... more lore that will probably never see the light of day now.
However, in a way I'm glad. I think these towers suffered from the "everything at once" phenomena that writers tended to embrace near the end of 3e (Elves, Shades, Kaanyr Vhok, those Towers..).
I'm not sure if it was caused by some sort of 'group consciousness' that managed to developed among the author/designers, or that one of them mentioned their interest in a certain something, and then others thought they had thought of it first (Cryptoamnesia). It just appears to have a lot of "ganging-up on stuff" toward the end there. Now that I'm looking at it more, I realize some of it was caused by the same author writing in two different series (and embracing his own 'pet lore' for them).
Anyhow, despite the completely unrealistic outcome of the Erevis Calle series, I still enjoyed them. The Sojourner was a very cool and original type of antagonist.
As for the towers, their full name is The Towers of the Eclipse, which is why Paul used them (it seemed very fitting, considering what was going on). He also alluded to them being made of som sort of 'Star Mithral'(like 'Star Iron'), or some-such, which had magic-enhancing properties (and for whatever reason, the two gods involved in their construction/habitation didn't know that... which bothered the hell out of me).
@Kuje -those Citadels are in the wrong spot on the official WotC 3e map, hence a lot of confusion concerning them. They are in the Small Teeth, not in the Cloud Peaks as shown. Although it appears they were in Tethyr, they were actually in Amn - that narrow stretch of land between mountains and the Wealdath Forest belongs to Amn (the only piece being below the mountain range). To add to the confusion, the Amn border now stops at those mountains (Small Teeth), because of the Sothillisian Empire's 'birth', which now occupies this thin patch of land between the forest and mountains. This means the towers looked like they were in Tethyr, were actually in Amn (and incorrectly placed on the official map), and are now within the zone of control of the Ogre Kingdom of Sothilissia.*
*In order to check my facts, I tried to find the rise of the Ogre Kingdom in the GHotR. I couldn't... most peculiar. 
I had to go back to Schend's original to check myself (and to PoF for the name change).
@Mods - I know this entire post was somewhat off-topic, but all the confusion surrounding those Towers really bothers the heck out of me. I find it irksome that lore gets basically ignored for years, and then suddenly stuff 'bunches-up' around it like an old lady's pantyhose.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 08 May 2009 02:19:26 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 18:15:36
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quote:
Originally posted by tauster
http://nwvault.ign.com/fms/Image.php?id=106073
Wasn't that from a generic D&D article on astrology?
I have two problems with that image... If you look at real-world Greco-Roman constellations (because surely other cultures saw other things, that haven't got as much publicity), most of them are vague shapes that you really have to want to see something in. Most charts I've seen, if it wasn't for the outline being provided, I'd not see anything at all in a particular grouping of stars.
And yet, most of the ones in that pic are well-defined enough to be a connect-the-dots drawing. That's just not realistic to me.
And it bugs me that there just happen to be stars in exactly the right spots to serve as harpy or dryad nipples. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 18:20:53
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And here I thought you were the kind of man who'd enjoy a nice set of nipples (on constelllations).
Anyhow, the Harpy one (there's only one) isn't so bad and is actually a little off, but the Dryad is just damn funny. 
Anyhow, since Realmspace's 'stars' are actually just giant gems (IIRC), I have no problem with the idea that whatever placed them did so in a much less-random pattern then our own constellations, so the 'connect the dots' thing works for me.
Edit: Although I do find the Dryad's tree a bit much. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 07 May 2009 18:21:50 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 18:45:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, since Realmspace's 'stars' are actually just giant gems (IIRC), I have no problem with the idea that whatever placed them did so in a much less-random pattern then our own constellations, so the 'connect the dots' thing works for me.
But then the question becomes twofold: why, and who? There's not really a point to arranging the stars in specific patterns if you don't draw something from doing so. And none of the deities of the Realms seem to have an interest in stars.
If it was deific doing, I'd expect to see a buttload of holy symbols as constellations.
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 19:08:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, since Realmspace's 'stars' are actually just giant gems (IIRC),
Nay, they're actually portals to the plane of radiance. :) Not gems.
And nod nod about the map changes, I just couldn't remember which nation the towers were located in. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 20:56:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, since Realmspace's 'stars' are actually just giant gems (IIRC), I have no problem with the idea that whatever placed them did so in a much less-random pattern then our own constellations, so the 'connect the dots' thing works for me.
But then the question becomes twofold: why, and who? There's not really a point to arranging the stars in specific patterns if you don't draw something from doing so. And none of the deities of the Realms seem to have an interest in stars.
If it was deific doing, I'd expect to see a buttload of holy symbols as constellations.
Well, I think that any cleric of Selune worth their salt would most likely be interested if one of her Tears (not a star, but a friggin Tear, which has ALWAYS been associated with the moon) just up and disappeared. I just can't swallow that they would up an ignore it and not immediately discover how this happened via scrying, research and divinations. Let alone sailors (whose entire livelihoods depend on the stars), students of cosmology (who constantly are taking stock of how Toril wheels about and what wheels about it) or any random peasant who ever happened to look up at the sky.
Honestly, I can't see how any number of magical societies and churches WOULDN'T immediately start casting divinationa and looking up charts and tracing the events back to discover who and what is responsible for a giant piece of the moon falling out of the sky. As heavily as Faerunian mages study the cosmos (consider this - someone DID invent the Sphere that traced the constellations and led Erevis to become a shade in the first place), I think it kind of absurd that Selune could lose a Tear the same moment hundreds were killed in a fiery explosion and everybody would just shrug and say 'oops, must've been a god. Moving on.' |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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tauster
Senior Scribe
Germany
399 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 21:06:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Arion Elenim
Well, I think that any cleric of Selune worth their salt would most likely be interested if one of her Tears (not a star, but a friggin Tear, which has ALWAYS been associated with the moon) just up and disappeared. I just can't swallow that they would up an ignore it and not immediately discover how this happened via scrying, research and divinations. Let alone sailors (whose entire livelihoods depend on the stars), students of cosmology (who constantly are taking stock of how Toril wheels about and what wheels about it) or any random peasant who ever happened to look up at the sky.
Honestly, I can't see how any number of magical societies and churches WOULDN'T immediately start casting divinationa and looking up charts and tracing the events back to discover who and what is responsible for a giant piece of the moon falling out of the sky. As heavily as Faerunian mages study the cosmos (consider this - someone DID invent the Sphere that traced the constellations and led Erevis to become a shade in the first place), I think it kind of absurd that Selune could lose a Tear the same moment hundreds were killed in a fiery explosion and everybody would just shrug and say 'oops, must've been a god. Moving on.'
I haven't read these books, but what you wrote sounds absolutely logical to me: Every change in the night sky would have been noticed immediately, and by a large number of people from various professions.
Btw, I know this is more about Spelljammer, but... There is the asteroid city of Dragon Rock thats on one of the largest Tears - those folks will surely notice when a neighbouring asteroid vanished. And then there are the paranoid Leirans* who will probably suspect some Torilian conspirancy to be behind the vanished Tear!
* i.e. the population on Selune itself who still call the moon "Leira" and are deeply paranoid about an invasion from the Torilians. See SJR2 Realmspace for more details. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 21:57:32
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Bear in mind that most of the deities that are currently active in the Realms probably didn't exist when those stars (portals) were placed. In fact, given that it was probably done by some 'Elder Being' (Ao?), it would make some sense if other things were represented - perhaps the Creator races, or members of the Fey or Draconic Pantheons (like that Dryad or the Dragon).
Even Mystryl herself was probably created after those portals were placed (since the sphere obviously already existed).
Unless of course those portals are really just shards of the original sun that was destroyed, and like a 'blood splatter', they flew all over the crystal sphere when it was destroyed. Not very canon, but kinda cool in a morbid sort of way.
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, since Realmspace's 'stars' are actually just giant gems (IIRC),
Nay, they're actually portals to the plane of radiance. :) Not gems.
Ahhh... I must be thinking of Greyspace - my other favorite setting.
Not being a Spelljammer afficionado, I often get the lore of the two mixed-up.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 07 May 2009 21:58:18 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2009 : 22:23:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, since Realmspace's 'stars' are actually just giant gems (IIRC),
Nay, they're actually portals to the plane of radiance. :) Not gems.
Ahhh... I must be thinking of Greyspace - my other favorite setting.
Not being a Spelljammer afficionado, I often get the lore of the two mixed-up.
Indeed, I think you were because I dimly recall, but I haven't dug out Greyspace to check, that the stars in Greyhawk are gems. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2009 : 00:40:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, since Realmspace's 'stars' are actually just giant gems (IIRC),
Nay, they're actually portals to the plane of radiance. :) Not gems.
Ahhh... I must be thinking of Greyspace - my other favorite setting.
Not being a Spelljammer afficionado, I often get the lore of the two mixed-up.
Indeed, I think you were because I dimly recall, but I haven't dug out Greyspace to check, that the stars in Greyhawk are gems.
Yes, the stars are embedded jewels in the crystal sphere of Greyspace.
Also, like Realmspace, the stars in Krynnspace are portals to the Plane of Radiance as well. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2009 : 00:56:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
@Kuje -those Citadels are in the wrong spot on the official WotC 3e map, hence a lot of confusion concerning them. They are in the Small Teeth, not in the Cloud Peaks as shown. Although it appears they were in Tethyr, they were actually in Amn - that narrow stretch of land between mountains and the Wealdath Forest belongs to Amn (the only piece being below the mountain range). To add to the confusion, the Amn border now stops at those mountains (Samll Teeth), because of the Sothillisian Empire's 'birth', which now occupies this thin patch of land between the forest and mountains. This means the towers looked like they were in Tethyr, were actually in Amn (and incorrectly placed on the official map), and are now within the zone of control of the Ogre Kingdom of Sothilissia.*
Indeed. The Twin Towers of the Eternal Eclipse are located within the peaks of Small Teeth -- as stated in Lands of Intrigue.
The Twin Towers in the Cloud Peaks are not the same location. There are no Twin Towers in the Cloud Peaks; the FRCS is in error. This has now largely been confirmed in both Power of Faerūn and Dragons of Faerūn which provides some focus on the Towers. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Big Mac
Acolyte
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2009 : 02:27:16
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A map of the stars of Realmspace would be fantastic. If you make one, it should of course be called a "Map of The Sea of Night".
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Originally posted by Bladewind
My current character (called Lynx) would fare well with a mapping of the night's sky. Stars, comets, planets and Selune and her tears guide the prophesies of this faithfull servant of Sehanine Moonbow so an accurate map would serve him to no end.
Sorry to disapoint you, but comets, planets, Selune and the Tears of Selune would not actually feature on a map of the Realmspace constellations. Because they are not actually on the surface of the crystal sphere, these objects all move across the sky (relative to the stars) so their positions would not be fixed on a map.
Of course, there is nothing to stop a fan of Selune from making a map of the moon's surface.
quote:
Originally posted by tauster
I'd be extremely happy to see such a map! *all available thumbs up*
If you really create a map, please remember to include Selune (the moon) plus the asteroid cluster called "Selune's Tears" that trail behind it. There was some information about their placement somewhere on the web, but I forgot where exactly that was. I'll try to dig it out in the next few days...
Having said that you can't put Selune and the Tears of Selune on a map of the stars, I suppose you could make a second map (or probably a diagram) to illustrate the relative positions of Toril, Selune and the Tears of Selune.
I've not got the Spelljammer Wiki article for the Tears of Selune done yet, but from what I recall of SJR2 and FRCS I can tell you a couple of factiods:
- The Tears of Selune are described as following Selune as Trojans. This means they are in the L5 Lagrangian point and
- The Tears of Selune are said to be arranged in a disc shape if viewed from above (i.e. if you fly up to the zenith of the sphere or down to the nadir of the sphere, you see a disc of asteroids rather than a line of asteroids).
I would say that the asteroids all orbit around a single object in the centre of their group, which IIRC is the (unnamed) asteroid that has a mysterous castle on it. One asteroid that might interest people is the one that features in the FR product called Undermountain: Stardock. That is a freebie download from the WotC website, so everyone can have a look. |
David "Big Mac" Shepheard
Webmaster - Virtual Eclipse Roleplaying Club
http://www32.brinkster.com/virtualeclipse/
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/
Visit my Yahoo links for: Forgotten Realms websites, Al Qadim websites, Arcane Age websites, Kara-Tur websites, Maztica websites, The Horde websites and FRCS web enhancements |
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Big Mac
Acolyte
United Kingdom
21 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2009 : 02:40:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Aside from Spelljammers (wich have mostly been ignored for two editions now), and a few lonely Sages who need to get out more, I don't think any groundlings really bother to keep track of the Tears, in regards to how many there really are, or bother to even name any of them.
That might be true if astrology did not exist in the Realms. But as astrology does exist, some people are going to be interested in the movement of the planets, the phases of the moon and the positions of the Tears of Selune.
IIRC, the astrologers of Kara-Tur got very exited when the Tears of Selune first popped into existance. (This was actually a relatively recent event.)
Having said that, astrologers (and other interested groundlings) will have a Toril-centric view of Realmspace. So rather than imagining the Tears of Selune as a disc, they will just see it as a scattered straight line.
In fact the entire "Sea of Night" concept, would imply a bunch of islands floating in a sea, rather than objects that are (in some cases) as big as Toril itself. |
David "Big Mac" Shepheard
Webmaster - Virtual Eclipse Roleplaying Club
http://www32.brinkster.com/virtualeclipse/
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/
Visit my Yahoo links for: Forgotten Realms websites, Al Qadim websites, Arcane Age websites, Kara-Tur websites, Maztica websites, The Horde websites and FRCS web enhancements |
Edited by - Big Mac on 27 Apr 2013 16:02:49 |
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The night's sky in the realms...
