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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
30303 Posts |
 Posted - 03 May 2010 : 11:47:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by gomez
Btw, is Spellfire the 'sequel' to the Sword Never Sleeps? (I haven't managed to find that novel yet, it sold out)
Spellfire was one of the very first published Realms novels. 
Indeed.
Gomez, you might want to pay a visit to the FR novel section on the main site. It has all the details about the various Realms novels -- including which series they belong to, as well as publishing dates. |
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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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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
250 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 12:24:37
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What I meant was: The Sword Never Sleeps ends with the Knights (finally) arriving in Shadowdale.
Is it known what happened then? Is this the moment that Spellfire starts off?
Or are there more events than yet need chronicling?
Gomez |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
2545 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 12:32:48
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| More events happen. |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2905 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 12:42:27
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quote:
Originally posted by gomez
What I meant was: The Sword Never Sleeps ends with the Knights (finally) arriving in Shadowdale.
Is it known what happened then? Is this the moment that Spellfire starts off?
Or are there more events than yet need chronicling?
Gomez
I am unsure about what year Sword ended, but there are plenty of events that were never detailed. Spellfire takes place a relatively short time before the Time of Troubles if I remember correctly.The old Hall of Heroes is a great source (far superior to the two later 2nd edition books detailing Realmsian characters)for the Knights, although only hints and small comments concerning their adventures are given. |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2076 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 13:24:29
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Or you could always ply THO with a lot of wine and ask her to illuminate...
If nothing else, it'll sure be entertaining! |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
2545 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 13:50:18
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| Didn't Swords take place in 1348DR? |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
Edited by - Brimstone on 03 May 2010 13:50:51 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
30303 Posts |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
615 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 16:16:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
I am unsure about what year Sword ended, but there are plenty of events that were never detailed. Spellfire takes place a relatively short time before the Time of Troubles if I remember correctly.The old Hall of Heroes is a great source (far superior to the two later 2nd edition books detailing Realmsian characters)for the Knights, although only hints and small comments concerning their adventures are given.
According to the Karen Wynn Fonstad Atlas of the Forgotten Realms, as well as the usual sources Spellfire is set in 1357 DR. |
"No, he did *not* say that war is unforeseeable. Yes, you may have heard him say it, but he did not say it, and that's a fact!" - Malcolm Tucker, "In the Loop". |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4567 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 16:46:11
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That's correct, and in the years between the end of THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS and the beginning of SPELLFIRE, the Knights arrived at the Old Skull Inn, chatted with the staff, got jumped by Zhent undercover agents (who'd been in the taproom) that night in their rooms, survived, claimed the Twisted Tower (which involved fighting Zhents and drow through it, and cleansing it, then delving into the cellars and down into the drow-infested caverns and tunnels connected to the cellars), and tried to settle down to ruling Shadowdale. Which meant winning over a frightened, Zhent-harrassed, surly populace, fighting off three Zhent armed forays from Voonlar (and then carrying the fight to the Zhents in Voonlar), establishing laws and local constables and a militia, doing a census (results of which are in the original "Old Grey Box" Realms boxed set), uncovering a were-creature that was murdering villagers as part of that census, then having all sorts of adventures (including fighting drow at Castle Grimstead, battling local Zhent agents like Erek the Alchemist [who was using both poison and bombs against Harpers and anyone else hampering Zhent plots], going up against The Temple In The Sky after fighting the giants in the nearby Tower, and finally deciding that Doust should rule as Lord while the rest of the Knights went adventuring, both to curb growing demon and devil troubles emanating from Myth Drannor [where we finally succeeded in closing a gate to the "darker planes" that was letting devils flood into the Realms], and to act as Shadowdale's envoys throughout the Dales. The attempt was to cooperate with Mistledale (sucessful) and other dales (less successful) in fighting off the Zhents. The Zhents were busy (in Yulash and other places) fighting off Hillsfar's growing ambitions, and the Dales were also being pressured by Sembia; interests there were "buying up and moving in" all over the Dales, conquering without armed invasion...and the Knights ended up caught in the middle trying to finesse all of these competing interests.
Then came SPELLFIRE . . . 
love to all,
THO |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 17:13:28
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Holy Tempus and Tymora, that's about a dozen novels you've just covered!
Oh, wait . . .
This is what Ed would have written about if they'd let him write novels for the first decade of the Realms, between SPELLFIRE and CROWN OF FIRE, when it was "all Drizzt, all the time" instead...isn't it? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4567 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 17:18:54
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Well, no, actually.
Ed was all about showing off the ENTIRE Realms, so DMs would early on really feel what it was like to have steamy jungles AND howling glaciers, pirates in the tropics and grim northern warriors, etc etc ad infinitum.
Ed would have given us a Mirt doing nasty mercantile swindling in the streets and back alleys novel, a Dabron Sashenstar exploring hitherto unchartered wilderness novel, a novel from the point of view of elder dragons trying to fight off human incursions into their domains novel, a dwarves fighting internally to either promote or resist change that's being forced upon them by humans, a "what life is like down in Undermountain" novel, a "traitor amongst The Simbul's apprentices" novel, a "growing up as an enslaved, beautiful, ambitious female in Thay" novel, and so on and on.
Yes, ALL of those were outlined in Ed's plans. Ed never intended the Realms to be a place of signature characters and concentrating on the Knights or anyone else. He wanted it more like Terry Pratchett's Discworld, where recurring characters can show up in any book, but each book tells a story all its own.
Sigh.
So much lost . . .
love,
THO |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2076 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 17:33:23
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| Agreed. Be still my heart as I contemplate all those potential novels... |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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capnvan
Senior Scribe
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 20:19:59
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
*Snip*
the Knights arrived at the Old Skull Inn, chatted with the staff, got jumped by Zhent undercover agents (who'd been in the taproom) that night in their rooms, survived, ...
Then came SPELLFIRE . . .
love to all,
THO
*Many snips*
Did you leave a good tip? If not, could that have been the impetus for an entire campaign?
Former bartender, just checking!   |
"Saving a life, though regrettable, is a small price to pay for a whole lifetime of unfettered killing." |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2905 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 20:38:00
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
uncovering a were-creature that was murdering villagers as part of that census,
I actually borrowed that one for a one on one adventure years ago. It was quite a battle in the festhall with Florin and the PC desperately tried to get hold of a silver cake knife which was the only usable weapon available to them that could affect the were. They thought they were looking for a zenth agent and that the girl would give them a lead.
That was one of my favourite adventures ever. |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
2545 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 21:44:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
Agreed. Be still my heart as I contemplate all those potential novels...
I agree. |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
726 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2010 : 23:25:59
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Ah, but beautiful lady, you left out the unwritten novel Ed used to talk about all the time at GenCon seminars: the one from the outcast mind flayer's POV, the adventurer using the memories stolen from victims to track down treasures, but getting increasingly self-disgusted at living such an existence.
THAT was the one that made my dad, who took me to my first GenCon, open his eyes wide and say, "So this isn't just kid's stuff. Guess we'll come back next year."
He wrote to TSR, asking them to let Ed write that book, but I'm thinking they never even forwarded the letter to Ed, let alone put the book on the schedule.
If we'd had all those books right at the beginning of the Realms, one a year, it would have painted the tapestry so wide and deep...
Sigh.
(Now I know why THO types that word so often.)
BB |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
2545 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 04:38:20
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All the Lore we don't even know about...
Sigh. |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Sill Alias
Senior Scribe
Kazakhstan
554 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 06:38:52
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Dear Mr. Greenwood. I love the Realms you created and grateful for making such great persons in this world. I have a question about Elminster.
Code of the Harpers says that the Harpers to maintain their membership must make some compositions or poems at least once per year. How many of such the Elminster made for all his life? If he did, were they good or not? Or he have some kind of free off charge privilege? Or he have unofficial membership |
You can hear many tales from many mouths. The most difficult is to know which of them are not lies. - Sill Alias
"May your harp be unstrung, your dreams die and all your songs be unsung." - curse of the harper, The Code of the Harpers 2 ed.
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Edited by - Sill Alias on 04 May 2010 07:45:07 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4567 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 15:42:08
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Hi again, all. Sill Alias, I bring this swift reply from Ed:
Hi! Well met, and thanks for the great question. Although no one was ever going to boot El (a founding member) from the Harpers for lack of creative output, the Old Mage did (and still does!) scribble chapbook potboilers (very good for their type, which we real-world types might term "overblown pulp fiction derring-do adventure") and poetry (most of which is TERRIBLE). El does have a knack for satirical parody poetry, however, which because of its meter lends itself to use as replacement song lyrics, and some of those efforts on his part are quite good (and have seen lasting popularity in the Realms, though almost no one knows who composed them). One example: the Cormyrean song "Our King Azoun," which has such lyrics as "Our King Azoun is a bold bold soul..." but got transformed into "Our King Azoun is a randy dandy goat..." El has also composed a handful of tunes, some of them pleasant but generally uninspired - - and he's been doing it for long enough that he's produced thousands of poems, a play or two (again, vicious satires are his forte), about a dozen tunes, and forty or fifty sets of parody lyrics, all told. Not to mention some sixty chapbooks, ranging from tender romances to action epics, but predominantly there aforesaid pulp adventure.
So saith Ed. Outlining the stellar literary career of the Sage of Shadowdale.
We're here all week, folks; try the fish!
love,
THO |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
2896 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 16:02:02
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So, what you're saying is that Elminster is the Weird "El" Yankovic of the Realms.
I KNEW IT! |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
"Not in my Realms."
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
Edited by - Ashe Ravenheart on 04 May 2010 16:02:38 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
4567 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 16:13:50
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(Enters stage left, eyes downcast, in a black cowled robe. Looks up at audience, and intones gravely:)
And Ashe was never seen again.
(Bows head again, walks to center stage, looks up once more.)
It is a heavy price that seekers of the truth pay for the rest of us, when they learn dark truths. Join me in a moment of reflection on the brave, uncompromising career of the scribe known as Ashe Ravenheart . . .
 Joke. Just for those who aren't getting it.  JOKE.
love,
THO |
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Menelvagor
Senior Scribe
Israel
352 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 17:38:41
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No! Don't joke! We want the chance to get taken by you as well! Why does he get lucky? Take me, milady, take me!
I recall a scene in Blackstaff where Elminster quoted a 'prophecy' he wrote in a chapbook in Myth Drannor... he joked that some people thought it referred to Bane.
Since Ed has been in our world, has he brought some plays from our world to Faerun? If so, under whose name did he publish them? The true name, and alias, or himself? |
"Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly.
How much less them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation in the dust, are crushed before the moth?" - Eliphaz the Temanite, Job IV, 17-19.
"Yea, though he live a thousand years twice, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?" - Ecclesiastes VI, 6.
"There are no stupid questions – just a bunch of inquisitive idiots."
"Let's not call it 'hijacking'. Let's call it 'Thread Drift'." |
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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
250 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 20:12:59
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
That's correct, and in the years between the end of THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS and the beginning of SPELLFIRE, the Knights...<snippety for brievety>
Then came SPELLFIRE . . .
Ah, good to know I did not miss anything, you know, important ;P.
Btw most of Eds novel plans CAN still be written... I'm just saying.
Gomez |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
2896 Posts |
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dfemling
Seeker
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2010 : 23:16:54
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Good day Sir ED and Lady THO, it has been awhile from my last post so i hope life is treating you well. This time my question concerns the area around Waterdeep, roughly 0-25 miles or so and about 1372dr and before.
The question is what a traveler sees on his /her approach to waterdeep. I have a feeling you see farm lands with little hamlets and maybe some estates owned by the nobles. In my game I wish to create an estate house for my characters and have been viewing photos from my time in Germany and France. Also if my players are interested are the castle allowed to be built there and if so who holds the rights to these lands, and what kind of cost would we be thinking...Give me that +5 sword and you can have such and so land type thing?
Thank you for your time, and once again thank you for this amazing playground :)
Also if it is not too much to ask what type of buildings are we looking at, is there a trend for secret passages and fortified cellars maybe with battle maze or teleport magic entering the equation?
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2010)
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