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 New Dalelands campaign.. lore/resource questions
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 18 Jan 2014 :  21:10:57  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Hi friends,

I'm starting a new campaign later this week and have decided to at the very least start it off based around the adventurers defending/being involved with the conflict between the Dalelands and Sembia.. later on to mid late game ending up on a quest for nether scrolls to assist in conflict with the Netheril before traveling through time and space blah blah etc etc.

Anyways, my question is simply just if anyone has any suggestions on where I should look up as much canon lore as I can to do with the dales, largely mistdale to start other than say, the FG wiki and FG campaign guide. I would say the majority of the info I've found is mostly info from 3rd ed, in regards to names of figures and such.. I'm wondering things like what are the names of the Council of Six, or the name of the current High Councilor.. who leads the Riders of mistdale, etc etc.. Like I said, I can find piles of info on 3rd, much less on 4th. I'm content to just make it up on my own, but I'd like it to be as close to canon as possible, as the whole campaign will be done online/recorded/put on youtube..

Yeah.. any ideas, resources, help, consulting, or novels on what I should or shouldn't be doing would be greatly appreciated!

http://www.youtube.com/user/groupbutts

hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1150 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2014 :  17:24:50  Show Profile  Visit hashimashadoo's Homepage Send hashimashadoo a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The only 4th edition source for Dalelands lore other than the Campaign Guide and Player's Guide are a pair of adventures from the D&D Encounters series - Web of the Spider Queen, which deals exclusively with Shadowdale and the Underdark beneath it, and Search for the Diamond Staff which deals mostly with the town of Hap in Battledale and a village in western Mistledale called Peldan's Helm. There's not a tremendous amount of lore about the Dalelands in either adventure.

Edit: I thought I should note that Vault of the Dracolich also begins in Hap but there is 0% modern Dalelands lore in that adventure.

Edit the second: You may also want to check out the Living Forgotten Realms adventures set in the Dalelands. There are 11 that would be considered canon (i.e. released before WotC removed official support for the campaign) and possibly more lore to be found in adventures set in surrounding areas. I haven't looked through them all yet (I have 262 of the things and more are still being published) so can't point you towards a specific module but they're all free downloads.

When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.

Head admin of the FR wiki:

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/

Edited by - hashimashadoo on 19 Jan 2014 18:14:11
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Farrel
Learned Scribe

United Kingdom
239 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2014 :  19:19:28  Show Profile Send Farrel a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well met ruxpin_exe

I've been running a campaign in Misteldale for some time now. Although my campaign is set in 1353 this information from Ed will shed some light on the leader of the Riders after the Spellplague...

Hi, Farrel.
As it happens, several “Captain Baergils” have led the Riders of Mistledale down the years.
The most famous is a local legend who died heroically during the Time of Troubles. This Baergil was a former Captain of the Riders at the time of his death, having resigned from the Riders to pursue a holy life as a priest of Tempus. As a Warpriest resident in Mistledale, he sacrificed himself in a mighty magic that called up a ring of skulls that did much to help the sorely-outnumbered defenders of Mistledale defeat the invading Sword of the South army (Sembian mercenaries led by the Zhentarim).

There were two Captain Baergils before the famous one, and one since; all are blood-related. The first, Ellusk Baergil, was Captain of the Riders from 1156 DR to 1180 DR, and is remembered as a good, just, and capable man; the second, Horarn Baergil, was Captain for only a few months in 1242 DR before dying in battle against brigands in the forests of eastern Mistledale, and is recalled as a large, blustering, reckless hothead of a man.

The fourth and most recent Captain Baergil (if your campaign is set as the Spellplague is fading), is Emrius Baergil, a young, swift-witted, widely-liked man who never forgets a face or name, and is a mediocre soldier but a “natural” as a diplomat and investigator of crimes. He became Captain of the Riders in 1477 DR (when almost twenty-three years of age), and has covertly been training young boys and girls of the dale to be “eyes and ears” who report suspicious sights to the Riders, and keep watch over certain residents and visitors. He is a descendant of Darrask Baergil’s older brother Athror (a florid, successful and therefore wealthy, rather pompous man who owned several mills in northern Sembia; born 1301 DR, died 1391 DR).

The famous Captain Baergil was born Darrask Baergil on a farm in Mistledale, just southwest of Ashabenford, in 1302 DR (his parents, Angram and Baelaetha Baergil, were part owners of the farm, and dwelt there for the rest of their lives after they had their family, Angram dying of winter-fever in 1333 DR and Baelaetha of heartstop in 1337 DR; they had seven children, Darrask being the second, and the second of three boys). A good rider and forester from his earliest years, with a love of strategy and an even stronger love of Mistledale, Darrask joined the militia young, and became a Rider of Mistledale in 1321 DR, a year when eleven Riders retired (some of them thanks to debilitating wounds, others from the aches and failings of advancing age).
Darrask Baergil rose to become Swordar (then the sole second-in-command of the Riders; in the years since, there have been as many as three Swordars at once, the title shifting to mean something akin to “senior patrol leader”) of the Riders in 1332 DR, upon the death of Swordar Galaerak Darrowman (of an infection after being severely wounded in a winter fight with wolves). In 1335 DR, Darrask Baergil succeeded Ranthorn Hawkhar as Captain of the Riders of Mistledale (after Hawkhar lost his legs, home, and family to murderous house-burning raiders, and was taken by his kin to northern Sembia to live out his last years in their care), a rank Baergil resigned in Mirtul of 1352 DR.
As Captain, Darrask Baergil is remembered as a worldly-wise, weatherbeaten man who faced danger calmly, and was customarily polite. He had steel-gray eyes, hair, and moustache (formerly brown), was of average height, had very hairy forearms, and walked in his later years with a slight limp thanks to his right thigh being gored by a boar and subsequently pierced by brigand AND Zhentilar weapons. He ate and dressed simply, having interest in practicality and none at all in fashion, never married but was known to be fast friends with no less than five women of Mistledale and two travelling Harpers who often visited the dale, and if he fathered any children, the folk of Mistledale never learned of them.
He liked roast boar drenched in a red wine mushroom sauce, gnome-brewed mint ale from western Sembia, and firewine, but lived simply and customarily ate and drank almost everything. He was never without a sharp belt knife, and loved to whittle small lengths of chain and attached figurines to pass the time (these he gave away to children or acquaintances). He collected maps and scraps of the lore of Mistledale (that he wrote down in small chapbooks). The dancing of elves enthralled him, and he collected fine swords but never used them; long after his death, his kin discovered a Cormanthyrian elfblade (+1 keen longsword) among them.
Most who had dealings with Captain Darrask Baergil found him to be a fearless but kindly veteran, a shrewd judge of character and a peerless defender of the dale always alert and prepared for trouble and treachery. As a strategist he was the equal of many a king, but otherwise he was a simple man who loved simple things, that could be summed up (as he once did) as “Mistledale safe, prosperous, and happy.” He was friendly to all but had few close friends. Darrask Baergil could be stern and ruthless when he had to be, and in game terms began as a LN (and drifted to NG, later CG) human male fighter, probably F2 when a junior Rider, F4 when he was Swordar, and up to F7 or F8 by the time he resigned as Captain.
After several vivid dreams in which Tempus appeared to him and called upon him, Darrask Baergil retired from the Riders in 1352 DR to apply to Dale-based Warpriests of Tempus to become a priest of Tempus. He was accepted, served with eager diligence despite no longer being young, and rose swiftly in rank and regard among the holy devout of the Wargod. At the time of his death, he was probably (in game terms) a 7th level cleric. (In both his holy and Rider careers, Darrask Baergil’s swift advancement was due to his personal prowess, energy, and character, and the general “busy nonstop adventuring” nature of both lives he led.)
I hope this is of help! This was fun but took some time to unearth notes, because it’s been a long time since I’ve looked at Baergil.



So saith Ed. Who is, of course, the creator of all the Baergils, the Mistledale they loved and served, and the Realms around it.
love,
THO

I hope this helps...
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2014 :  21:37:20  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ah wow, thanks heaps for the info from the both of you. Hash I'll have to look up the stuff you mentioned, and Farrel, Emrius Baergil it is! Hah. If you guys or anyone else happen to think of anything else of relevance I'd love to hear it.
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 21 Jan 2014 :  16:39:42  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huAYb1XYG4I

Just incase anyone was bored.. ep 1 of the series/campaign. Bare with us as it's been a long time since most of us played and will take us a few days to get the rules down again.. if anyone spots any glaring conflicts I'd like to know! ;p
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 30 Jan 2014 :  05:14:50  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi again,

So expanding on this thread.. I'm looking for mid-higher level threats/monsters/npcs that I can pit against my players. Looking for canon/official npcs before I start creating my own. Like, a few level 15-level30ish evil wizards, undead, etc etc within the provinces of the dales, sembia, and netheril. Any good ideas?

TIA!

edit: oh yeah.. its 4th ed. Tho I'm not above time travel into the past, thats potentially gonna happen at some point anyways.

Edited by - ruxpin_exe on 30 Jan 2014 05:19:57
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1150 Posts

Posted - 30 Jan 2014 :  06:19:59  Show Profile  Visit hashimashadoo's Homepage Send hashimashadoo a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Borrowing from Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (an offially sponsored WotC CRPG), I guess you could use Rezlus. He's a (12th I think) level Zhentarim Cleric in charge of the Zhent operations in Tethyamar.
Rezlus has a load of Zhentarim under his command and is allied with a red dragon (at least elder age category) named Incendius. His base, the Tower of the Void, is a tricky spot to assault and Incendius is downright tough (as most dragons of his age are).

When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.

Head admin of the FR wiki:

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 22 Feb 2014 :  01:54:34  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Has anyone ever seen a map of the forgotten realms version of the Shadowfell?
I mean, can someone tell me to what extent does it sort of copy the regular realm of Faerun? Is it a copy in like that, mountains are in the same places? Or not at all? Are settlements in the same place, or..? I'm sort of confused on the relationship between the two worlds exactly, any info would be great. ;x

Oh yeah, we just started adding the first of webcams to the game recordings, if anyone is bored..
http://www.youtube.com/user/groupbutts
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 22 Feb 2014 :  16:26:07  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ruxpin_exe

Has anyone ever seen a map of the forgotten realms version of the Shadowfell?
I mean, can someone tell me to what extent does it sort of copy the regular realm of Faerun? Is it a copy in like that, mountains are in the same places? Or not at all? Are settlements in the same place, or..? I'm sort of confused on the relationship between the two worlds exactly, any info would be great. ;x

Oh yeah, we just started adding the first of webcams to the game recordings, if anyone is bored..
http://www.youtube.com/user/groupbutts



I'd like to know the answer to this question too. I know in Birthright Campaign Setting, the two were VERY similar, but the realms seems to be a good bit different.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Jakuta Khan
Senior Scribe

496 Posts

Posted - 22 Feb 2014 :  17:44:47  Show Profile Send Jakuta Khan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
awesome platform for online playing. where can you download the Software?

And is it just for 4e or other Systems / Editions as well?
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 23 Feb 2014 :  07:31:43  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jakuta Khan

awesome platform for online playing. where can you download the Software?

And is it just for 4e or other Systems / Editions as well?



http://www.rpgtableonline.com/welcome.php

It's really really great, however it only really supports 4e. But it does really well, it has all the monster stats of ALL monsters already programmed in, so you just need to type the monsters name and you have all their stats right then and there.
You have to pay some money to get it working really well, but its very reasonable really. You have to buy most of the monster/player token icons, but clearly you wouldn't NEED to do that. Most of the tiles you have to pay for, but I much more frequently just upload an image to play on as a map. AGAIN, thats a paid feature, but uploading an image to them to use as a map is like, literally a few cents I think.. If you dump $20 on coins you can get them to go pretty far if you don't let yourself go crazy and just buy everything. Theres very little reason to sub to their monthly payment plan, just buy coins and spend em as you use em, you'll save a lot of dough.. at least I have I think.

Really speeds up play a lot. I really can't imagine running 4e combat without it, because it does so much work for you. I'm hoping they expand it to support DNDNext when it comes out, because I assume we'll swap to those rules.

Just to completely answer this question, I used to record with fraps, but now use OBS because it's pretty much superior in every way. Smaller output file while still keeping the same quality, ability to imbed the cam really easily, less errors/problems, easier to monitor capture vs window capture.

Anyways - SHADOWFEL MAPS, WHO GOT EM? ;p

Edited by - ruxpin_exe on 23 Feb 2014 07:33:06
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Jakuta Khan
Senior Scribe

496 Posts

Posted - 23 Feb 2014 :  20:50:38  Show Profile Send Jakuta Khan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
alright, thanks a lot for this reply.

really awesome platform indeed
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Cbad285
Learned Scribe

160 Posts

Posted - 26 Feb 2014 :  14:27:27  Show Profile Send Cbad285 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
This is dated material. But concerning daggerdale the sword of the dale modules are a great resource. The zhentil keep box set has a couple source books as well and information on some minor villages like snowmantle. Also the doom of daggerdale is a good history lesson. Finders bane certainly has some background on everything from vampires to ancient tombs described in above mentioned mods. Lastly shadowdale from the tot trilogy is a good read. There are also mods built around the books by the same names. As always candlekeep is just a search away from detailing any questions you have.

"Beware the Dream Fever!"
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 01 Mar 2014 :  00:40:59  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thx Cbad.. even dated materials helps a lot actually.. I've been using older stuff to name npcs. Maybe recycling family names instead of their first names, etc etc. There seems to be PILES of lore for 3rd ed vs 4th, online between the FG wiki and realmshelp.. then of course all the pdf's volos guide etc etc. I think prob maybe the best source for me for 4th ed would be reading actual novels set in the time period, but between working, being in school full time (software engineering), hitting the gym and trying to maintain ladyfriend type relationships, pounding a few novels is something I just can't find the time for. ;__;

Unrelated, but to avoid starting a new thread for just this one question, we just ran (sort of) our first formal (sort of) skill check the other day.
It was a little bumpy because for 2 of the 3 players they've never played 4th before, and I'm pretty new running 4th myself for that matter (and I'd started to get drunk around this point), but it starts around 2:30 or so into this video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXhAaa1eGWY

Would love to know if anyone has tips as to how to run it smoother and such.. its tough because I feel like in its best you sort of just tell the players of the situation that theyre in and they just start listing off actions as to how to solve it and what skills they're using.. but what ways have you found work best to seemlessly move from story telling to skill checking without straight up saying "you're in a skillcheck now" or "time to use some skills here", etc etc.

Thx again! This thread is turning out to be a huge help to me ;p
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ruxpin_exe
Acolyte

Canada
16 Posts

Posted - 17 Mar 2014 :  10:41:47  Show Profile Send ruxpin_exe a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Anyone know the official word/story on what different accents sound like in different parts of Faerun?

I mean, I know senior boss Greenwood has modeled all sorts of Faerun around the real world.. is it safe to assume he did the same with accents, and does anyone know what parts of the map correspond with what dialects and such?

In line with the rest of this thread, I'm most concerned with how most people from the Dales, Sembia, and Netheril might sound (to further and more accurately role play the voices of NPC's in adventures.. Also handy would be a guess as to the closest earth language that would sound like Drow.. but really if anyone has a complete list of any sort that would be dope.)

Has anyone seen one of these? Like..
Icewind Dale, Scottish.
Silver Marches, Irish.
Waterdeep and south of there, UK English.
Calimshan, Indian.

etc etc etc.. I mean I just totally pulled those out of thin air, but would love to hear if anyone has any official data. Thx!
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore

Brazil
1600 Posts

Posted - 17 Mar 2014 :  19:44:43  Show Profile Send Barastir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi, ruxpin_exe.

Actually, as far as I've been reading here at candlekeep, Ed's Realms are less related to real world than we think. I've seen a nice letter in a Dragon magazine relating FR places with RW ones, but it's mostly the decision a DM made to decide the flavor of his campaign. Some places have a clear influence, at least in published art or lore, but in the original Realms it is not necessarily true. The Moonshae islands, for example, are totally inspired by the British islands, but were added to the Realms, not a feature from the original FR setting. However, I can seek this article and maybe rewrite it to you here, if you want.

"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."

The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood)
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