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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Nov 2004 : 01:13:47
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Hello, all. Ed answers kuje31’s latest:
kuje, Sandrew the Wise IS that busy, and DOES get around that much. A rising star in the faith, he was ‘called’ from Neverwinter to Silverymoon to receive instruction from senior priests of Oghma. He resided in the Gem of the North for about a season in doing so, worshipping and serving the Binder in Silverymoon -- and then sent off to Waterdeep, to take charge of the temple there.
Sandrew is very tall and very charismatic, with a mellifluous voice and deeply-hooded eyes that blaze “with zeal,” as other priests of Oghma like to say. They DO seem to emit a golden light at times (his pupils are a strange butter-yellow hue), and some folk have mistaken him for a god, or the servant of a god, when meeting him. Sandrew dresses simply, in ankle-length robes of white shimmerweave (while conducting ‘high rituals) or beige homespun (the rest of the time). He wears several magical rings, carries a magical staff, and wears slippers that have toes that can sprout sleep-venomed daggerblades when he needs to defend himself. Sandrew’s chief talents lie in NEVER forgetting a reference, or where he saw it, and in perceiving how best to state or impart something for his intended audience (as Kitten of Waterdeep once put it, “he can make even the outrageous seem reasonable”).
So saith Ed. Another Realmslore query dealt with (dusts hands briskly, reaches for mug of tea). Ah, this is the life. Feet up, Realmslore flooding into my computer, Ed’s teasing merrily everpresent . . .
love to all, until next,
THO
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Capn Charlie
Senior Scribe
USA
418 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2004 : 08:10:53
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Many thanks once more, Ed.
Trust me, your descriptions of how brutal war can be in the realms is not so much of a surprise, only unnexpected in that he(and I must admit, I) were expecting the realms to be a bit more rosy and pleasant than that... and we are both happy that it is not.
No real surprises about the Lizardman info, except for that about the rite of passage... very interesting. I will most likely use that before too awful long, perhaps in conjunction with the lizardmen that have taken up residence in turmish.
As for the Thayan information... no apologies are neccesary, and in fact, I am more intrigued by the fact that there are NDas about that area, currently, and the prospect(even if I am mistaken) of more products coming along about one of my favorite areas is more than sufficient recompense for my not getting a few nuggets of info right now.
Once again, from my players and me, Thank you. |
Shadows of War: Tales of a Mercenary
My first stab at realms fiction, here at candlekeep. Stop on by and tell me what you think. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2004 : 15:13:55
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Hello again, fellow scribes. I bring Ed’s latest:
Blind Ranger, you’re quite welcome. Oooh, and a Lordship! Thank you, I’ll take very good care of it . . . I’ll just put it on this shelf over here, and . . . there we are . . .
There’s no “official” postal service in the Realms, with stamps and uniforms and suchlike, but all peddlers, minstrels, caravan wagon-merchants, trading coster offices, and caravan masters have traditionally taken verbal messages, written messages, and small packages (usually a canvas ‘purse’ sewn together and sealed against damp with pitch or sap before being sewn inside a second layer of canvas) for delivery to distant places, in return for quite steep fees (so common folk use such means only in emergencies). The cost reflects the fact that the delivery person may pay someone else, partway along the route, to do the last leg of the delivery, and still wants to make a few coins of profit after doing this. It would be rare to find any tangible message being delivered for less than a 6 gp ‘up front’ charge, unless it’s “just to the next village or two along” a shared road.
Heralds and court envoys regularly deliver official messages and royal communications, of course.
All priesthoods maintain a regular message service between temples (and can use spells to deliver short verbal messages ‘directly’), and often offer a cut-rate service to faithful worshippers (who have already given regular or substantial offerings to the temple) for including their messages along with the temple reports, written prayers and sermons, and holy decrees.
Lastly, shippers of large cargoes will often make several copies of a message for their intended recipient, and slip it inside crates or coffers that are then closed and sealed. Sometimes these are of the “If the finder of this delivers it unopened to Durth Merrilees of Merrilees Tapestries on the Way of the Dragon, Durth will pay a reward of 4 dragons” variety (this example obviously being for a message inbound to Waterdeep).
Note that this can take some time, and many messages never arrive. Note also that there’s really no such thing as privacy unless codes are used, because in many cases a ‘local village scribe’ does the initial writing for the sender, and anyone can open and read (or even alter) the message en route. Many folk employ ‘private codes’ of this sort: plain everyday writing, but certain phrases have a previously-arranged ‘private meaning’ (example: “Aunt Maerl continues to do well, and asks after you” really means: “Our investment scheme is flourishing, and that extra money you offered to put into it is now needed”)
There are armed, experienced, mounted couriers within Cormyr and Sembia (operating only within the boundaries of those countries), because there’s enough wealth and population density to support such services. They typically deliver small packages swiftly and reliably, in return for 25 gp or more fees.
As for the general spread of information (news and rumors), it spreads by priests spell-talking to distant priests, via ‘wandering’ peddlers and minstrels and the Harpers, via trading costers, and with every ship and caravan (alert readers of my accounts of the Realms from 1979 onwards should recall what THO knows well: every arrival of a caravan to stay the night at the Old Skull spurred most of Shadowdale to turn out to “hear the latest” news).
There are even newspapers (“broadsheets”) published in many cities (see my Realmslore WotC website column for some details of those printed in Waterdeep), and these travel with all of the above. The arrival of a ‘new’ (sometimes seasons-old) broadsheet in a remote village is cause for a social gathering at the local tavern for the best reader to entertain everyone for an evening.
Thanks for the question, Blind Ranger, and keep ’em coming!
So saith Ed, who's enjoying spinning the Knights novel right now. I can't WAIT to read it. Sigh.
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2004 : 17:12:57
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:) This should be a easy question to answer.....
We were discussing drow gestation over on another topic and some of us still use the 2 years, for elves, that was in the Complete Book of Elves. Can you give us realmslore on how long the elven gestation is? |
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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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2004 : 17:33:36
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| & could I have my yes/no on whether Colin McComb's elven 'reverie' is part of your Realms? |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2004 : 18:27:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Faraer
& could I have my yes/no on whether Colin McComb's elven 'reverie' is part of your Realms?
And as a add one to this because it's come up reapeatedly on the WOTC boards, do drow sleep like humans or do they enter reverie or do they do both depending on if they are still connected to the Weave....? |
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 Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 00:02:25
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Hello, all. I present Ed’s latest words:
Bookwyrm, Faerun IS getting crowded. From the original Fiend Folio onwards, the number of hitherto-unknown races has increased sharply, and as the Realms was the official home of the 2nd Edition of D&D, every last one of them had to be shoehorned in. The apparent overcrowding was made worse when a lot of the ‘wide open spaces’ were trimmed from the Realms map for 3e (in other words, the “empty spaces between the human cities and realms, where one could meet with all manner of talking critters” suddenly just weren’t there anymore).
However, I’ve always postulated that the continent of Faerun, at least, is a verdant breadbasket that can feed LOTS of folk (except in its desert and frozen bits -- hence the orc hordes sweeping south to raid from time to time). It HAS to be that way to feed all of these folk, and there HAVE to be a lot of folk, or (most of the species of) dragons (a very-firmly-bolted-on element of the game) would starve.
TSR from the first downplayed the sexual side of things, and so my hints that, hey, there seems to be “something in the air” here: everyone’s coupling like bunnies, and babies are born in relentless profusion, have always been omitted or watered-down. To my way of thinking, this fertility MUST be present, or none of the races would ever produce enough bodies to fight all of these wars and still have civilizations (of sorts) standing -- or to fill the slave markets (and country) of Thay.
I plant a radish, and sixteen sprout. I make love to a partner, and twins or triplets arrive; the next time we couple, pregnancy occurs almost immediately (the females of Toril must be internally as strong as oxen!).
Something else should be noted, too: check out page 10 of the DM’s Sourcebook of the Realms, in the original Realms boxed set (“Old Gray Box”), wherein the map of the United States is size-compared to the Heartlands. We’re talking a LARGE area, please remember.
After all of this, if things still seem uncomfortably crowded to you (especially given the dominance of humans atop the soil, and drow below), make many of the peoples very scarce ON FAERUN, but more numerous on other continents of Toril (so they can arrive on trading ships, and leave a scattering behind across the lands, but be very rare “here”). That’s what I did with the dwarves, the gnomes, and to a large extent with the elves. The halflings I spread thinly everywhere humans dwelled, and then gave their own kingdom ‘way down south.’ The flind, gnolls, ogres, and giants were my real problem, and you’ll notice I shoved them into remote, inhospitable locations. My original players will recall that there’s an entire continent dominated by giants, and another landmass (that they’ve explored but little) that seems to consist of vast rolling grassy plains, inhabited by lots of centaurs, wemic, gnolls, flind, and so on.
So saith Ed. I can certainly attest to the lusty side of Realmsplay, but it seems some of you (hello, Wooly . . . and Sirius . . . and Karth) have already figured that out.
love to all (breathlessly), 
THO |
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zeathiel
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 00:25:01
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Another question(s) for Ed Greenwood,
When did the army of Silverymoon become the Knights in Silver instead of a general army/militia. Also when did the Argent Legion officially come into being?
Again, my thanks |
Edited by - zeathiel on 04 Nov 2004 00:28:52 |
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Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 03:08:35
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Aren't the Knights just the regular core of the army, not the whole? Most nations at the level of Silverymoon, at least in our history, didn't have a standing army, or only had a core of "regulars" (i.e., the knights of feudal Europe) that bolstered a conscripted or volunteer army that came up as needed. (I believe that this is where we get the idea of "officer" versus "enlisted," but I don't have facts on that.)
Thanks for the answer, Mr. Greenwood. Mostly it's what I figured -- both the problem of placing standard races in your own world, as well as the time of "let's just dump things on the Realms, because that logo sells even better than that of the core line." (I often wonder if that's a net compliment or insult, but that's under the bridge and out in the bay.)
Once again, I want to get a copy of the OGB, but that's just a little hard to find for a new player with limited resources.  Certainly that comparison map would give me a new perspective on the Realms that is hard to get right now. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
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Taelohn
Acolyte
36 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 04:19:43
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Sorry to bother again, but while we're speaking of the lusty side of Realmsplay... 
It has been said spellfire is heredity - I'm not sure if that means 100% odds, but there's a good chance of it (so far as I know). A player in my group has a PC that wields spellfire - and he (the character) is set to be a father, come a few more months. When it was mentioned that the child could eventually inherit spellfire, he (the player) started thinking... would it be possible that some other folks out there might want such a thing?
Ladies that would pay him to get them pregnant, in other words, so that they could have a child with various spiffy powers. You see how the plan would appear to be beneficial to him - but of course, it would likely mean he'd have to go around announcing that he has said power, which may draw less desirable attention.
In addition, odds are that most non-mages out there would have no clue what spellfire is... and those that do may consider the potential dangers of a child manifesting that to outweigh the benefits (whether through accidently destroying things or harming people, or whether by causing foes to come after the child).
Would anyone pay for such a thing (if so, how much?), or should he go back to earning gold the hard way (so to speak)? How much would his own station or charisma factor into it? (I've heard that some people wanted to bear Azoun's children... but hey, that was Azoun). Is the general idea sound (all my kids will have super-powers! - and that could be a lot, with the 'coupling like bunnies' mentality), or are there other things to consider? |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 08:02:40
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This is from Kezghan,
Could THO or Ed maybe supply the levels, aligns, races, classes, deities, gender/sex, for the Knights as they are in 1372?
Kuje's Note: I also mentioned to him that Heroes Lorebook is probably the most "recent" set of stat's for them. :) But he was looking for more then that.... |
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 04 Nov 2004 08:14:19 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 14:38:17
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Hello, all. Herewith, Ed makes reply to Gerath Hoan:
Ah, Gerath, you’ve stumbled across an Untold Secret of the Realms. Way back when Barb Young was editing DUNGEON Adventures magazine, she asked for short, simple adventures (“Side Treks” and slightly-larger equivalents). I did one for her (“Irongard,” published in issue 18), but we never got around to publishing my second one, “The Haunted Well.” I still have it, somewhere, a simple little three-chamber (or so) 2nd Edition dungeon, and may in time publish it somewhere and somehow. It’s, yes, a wayside well that’s locally deemed to be haunted. Though its water is just fine (drinkable), overnight camping near it is strongly discouraged.
So saith Ed. Who’s not telling you the whole story, in part because we Knights left some unfinished business there. 
love to all,
THO
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 15:26:23
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"The Haunted Well", then, is something I'd very much like to see; the kind of thing I wish more of had been published. Would it be hard to 3E it up and get it on wizards.com?
I think Wizards has deliberately avoided looking too closely at the Knights in its 'present', out of courtesy to Ed's campaign: it would amount to looking into the future. |
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Torkwaret
Seeker
Poland
82 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 20:35:37
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Greetings Ed !
I recently stumbled upon a certain interesting creature, which is sadly described with but a few words. I am refferin to the "flying, skeletal undeadbeing that seeks to slay all elves" in the description of Myth Rhynn. Will there be something more revealed about this mysterious thing in a 3.5 product ? Perhaps you can provide some information too ? |
...Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin... |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 21:22:00
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Bonjour monsieur Ed de la Forêt Vert,
Pouring over my realms-maps I noted a little detail which has been gnawing at me since. Is the fact that the word Boarskyr in Boarskyr Bridge an anagram of Obarskyr just a funny coincidence or something more?
Yes yes, I know it's a silly question, but it's been driving me nuts ever since I noticed it . And oh... is that the Hooded One's leash lying around on the floor unattended? |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 23:06:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase
And oh... is that the Hooded One's leash lying around on the floor unattended?
Of course not! I'll share, but I'll not leave the leash unattended!  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 04 Nov 2004 23:08:13 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 23:09:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Torkwaret
Greetings Ed !
I recently stumbled upon a certain interesting creature, which is sadly described with but a few words. I am refferin to the "flying, skeletal undeadbeing that seeks to slay all elves" in the description of Myth Rhynn. Will there be something more revealed about this mysterious thing in a 3.5 product ? Perhaps you can provide some information too ?
See "Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II", p.122 and as for the "being's" origins, look at Dragon#206, p.76. As for a 3.5 version, well, you never know ...
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Jerryd
Acolyte
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 23:21:14
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First time I've posted here; I'd be grateful if the ever-flirtatious Hooded One would relay this to Ed...
While I'm busy working on my War Wizards article and gathering notes for my next couple of Cormyr projects, I did take note Ed's following words:
quote:
However, I’ve always postulated that the continent of Faerun, at least, is a verdant breadbasket that can feed LOTS of folk (except in its desert and frozen bits -- hence the orc hordes sweeping south to raid from time to time). It HAS to be that way to feed all of these folk, and there HAVE to be a lot of folk, or (most of the species of) dragons (a very-firmly-bolted-on element of the game) would starve.
TSR from the first downplayed the sexual side of things, and so my hints that, hey, there seems to be “something in the air” here: everyone’s coupling like bunnies, and babies are born in relentless profusion, have always been omitted or watered-down. To my way of thinking, this fertility MUST be present, or none of the races would ever produce enough bodies to fight all of these wars and still have civilizations (of sorts) standing -- or to fill the slave markets (and country) of Thay.
It seems obvious to me from this that the peoples of Faerûn would place a high value on fertility and childbirth. I would also think that adults would have a rather higher mortality rate than the medieval/renaissance real world due to orc hords, dragon attacks, adventurers getting killed, and so forth. I know that the Realms is more gender-equal than the real world, but still, I'd think that men make up a higher proportion of solders or adventurers than women and thus make up a correspondingly larger proportion of deaths. If that's so, then the logical conclusion is that there are going to be a fair number of widows out there who are still in their childbearing years.
In the Realms, given the high value placed on fertility and childbirth, would there be significant social pressure on these widows to continue bearing children (either out of wedlock or through remarriage)? I would think that this would also result in there being much less stigma against, and much more acceptance of, bastard children except where such impacts noble or royal inheritance.
And another wild and wicked thought occured to me. For some reason, reading Ed's words also brought to mind the old feudal custom of Prima Nocta (I hope I spelled that right), First Night, illustrated in the movie Braveheart where a feudal lord has the right of First Night with commoner brides on their wedding nights. That practice was not generally benign, but in combination with Ed's words I thought of a variation. If childbirth is such a value, and a widowed woman of childbearing years can't soon find a new husband, might it be a right of her to request, and a lord's duty to perform, coupling for the purpose of getting more children on the widow and this particular form of adultery (if the lord is married) would not be considered a sin or violation of vows? Of course it would be a given that children of this custom would not be heirs or have any claim on the lord. Would this be a custom anywhere in Faerûn? (It might go some way to justify some of the renowned Obarskyr proclivities, anyway, and provide some degree of justification)
Oh, and one other question... Ed was gracious and wonderful enough to discuss Cormyr's Imperial Navy with me on the REALMS-L list, and was looking froward to my chapter on the Blue Dragons. It's been out for a while now, on both the mailing list and here on Candlekeep, with major modifications to bring it in line with his own lore. Has he had a chance to glance over it?
Thanks!
Jerry
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Edited by - Jerryd on 04 Nov 2004 23:28:50 |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5692 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2004 : 23:55:48
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Well met, Jerryd, welcome to Candlekeep 
A fine work indeed! 
Oh, Hooded One, just incase ye haven't ventured down the corridor to the chamber in which Jerry's work on the military of Cormyr is located, here is the scroll in question. |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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Edited by - Alaundo on 04 Nov 2004 23:57:32 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2004 : 01:08:59
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Thank you, Alaundo. I suspect Ed's most recent NDAs are going to stop him from even commenting on Jerryd's (ahem, Jerry D--'s) Cormyr files, but I'll pass them on, never fear.
Hello, all. Bookwyrm, you mentioned you lacked access to the Old Gray Box. I know there’s been some monkeying with the FR map since then. Among other things, it’s shortened the distance between the Sword Coast and the Sea of Fallen Stars, but before that ‘telescoping of wide open spaces’ occurred, a due east-west line across the Heartlands land mass of Faerun, from the Sword Coast to the city of Telflamm, was just a shade greater than the distance across our real-world United States of America at its widest point (from about Eureka, California to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina). That’s what the page Ed mentioned depicts.
On to his latest answer:
kuje31 and Faraer, I must begin by apologizing to Faraer for taking so long to answer his Reverie query, which was asked here months back. Briefly, I see the elves (including the drow) as evolving, so that definitive answers no longer fit each and every individual elf. For most drow, gestation takes, yes, two years -- but just as for Faerunian and real-world humans, there are premature-birth children who survive and thrive, sometimes after as little as eleven months of pregnancy.
As Elaine Cunningham said, elsewhere here at Candlekeep: “I postulated that natural adaption would result in other solutions, but also assumed that their elven natures, including the ability to enter reverie, were fragmented by their environment. So I left the issue unresolved, describing various drow in different situations. Some drow slept, some entered a form of Reverie, and some, such as Gromph, could not sleep at all. (It also occurred to me that the drow would likely have developed some sort of brief but deeply restorative meditation -- a very useful skill for warriors, priestesses and wizards who, for whatever reason, cannot afford to take their eyes off their enemies for long.) . . . there are references in the earlier lore to support these possible options: dreamless sleep, sleep with a dream phase, elven reverie.”
I’ve always treated surface elves AND drow like this: this elf does this, this elf does that, and no definitive statement can be made for the entire race, any longer.
So, yes, Colin McComb's elven Reverie is part of ‘my’ Realms, but not all elves go into Reverie all the time. Some don’t sleep at all (until they get sick or are wounded, whereupon they typically ‘crash’ in a semi-coma for tendays at a time, only to snap out of it ‘just fine’ and go on sleepless as before). How upset or wounded a particular elf is, drow or otherwise, affects which of the three options Elaine outlined ‘govern’ that particular elf. There’s also the deeper ‘stasis Reverie’ that elves who “sleep” for long periods (like the Srinshee) enter.
MOST surface elves don’t sleep, but do Reverie (not very often). MOST drow sleep as humans do, tormented by dreams, but don’t need to sleep very often (they can ‘remain awake’ for days, though that doesn’t mean they can run for days on end, or fight unceasing for days on end: physical exertion causes weariness of the body for elves just as it does for humans. Dwarves and gnomes CAN perform prolonged physical exertion for longer than other races, and halflings can engage in complicated mental exertion (adding up sums, sorting, remembering genealogies) for longer than other races without making mistakes due to mental fatigue.
Again, these are gross generalizations, of the sort that if I made them of real-world human sub-races I’d be rightly accused of “stereotyping.” However, I make no apologies for having some elves do one thing at a particular time and another thing later on, or this elf doing something different from that elf. It’s one of the features that lends them this fey ‘aura of mystery’ in the eyes of Faerunian human characters, and real-life human gamers.
So saith Ed. Who’s still happily writing away on SWORDS OF EVENINGSTAR (or whatever it’ll eventually be called).
love to all,
THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2004 : 01:10:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Jerryd
Oh, and one other question... Ed was gracious and wonderful enough to discuss Cormyr's Imperial Navy with me on the REALMS-L list, and was looking froward to my chapter on the Blue Dragons. It's been out for a while now, on both the mailing list and here on Candlekeep, with major modifications to bring it in line with his own lore. Has he had a chance to glance over it?
I, for one, quite liked that piece. And welcome to these halls! |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Sourcemaster2
Senior Scribe
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2004 : 03:22:23
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| O Lady from the Hood, I've been a bit too nervous to post before now, but your chaste nature and innocent soul have lured me here. I’ve got a few mojo-related questions, so I won’t beat around the bush (so to speak). 1) Mystra controls the Weave and her absence causes magic to go wild, but if she were to somehow be destroyed beyond recreation, could mortals eventually learn to adapt their spells to function normally? 2) Psionics is uncommon in the Realms, but is it ever seen as a threat by the gods? Not as a weapon, but in that it offers a source of magic not dependent (directly or indirectly) on the divine? 3) Just how much control do Faerunian clerics have over the spells they are given? Can a priest trust that the spells he prays for will be granted, or will the gods deny a spell they believe will be used for unworthy aims? Might a deity slip in a different spell if it thinks it will be needed, or is such intervention extremely rare? I'll bow out now, noble Lady, and leave you to your pristine pleasures. |
But what have all the passing years/Done, but breed new angers, fears?/Show me now an equal worth/To innocence I earned at birth. |
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TheHermit
Seeker
USA
60 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2004 : 03:49:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Jerryd
And another wild and wicked thought occured to me. For some reason, reading Ed's words also brought to mind the old feudal custom of Prima Nocta (I hope I spelled that right), First Night, illustrated in the movie Braveheart where a feudal lord has the right of First Night with commoner brides on their wedding nights.
Just to point out here, but there's not really much evidence that the medieval practice of jus primae noctis (law of the first night) (or droit du seigneur (the lord's right), if you prefer) existed. It may have perhaps existed in a limited fashion in some areas of Europe (mostly as a way to levy more taxes/fees), but certainly not to the extent believed in modern popular culture, and certainly not in England or Scotland during the time of Edward I. (Braveheart should come with a label that says "Not to be mistaken for actual history.") |
- "Glitz & Klax's Potions & Elixirs"/"The Sandmen", Inside Ravens Bluff, The Living City; 1990; TSR, Inc.
- "The Far Guardians' Traveler's Mission", Port of Ravens Bluff; 1991, TSR, Inc.
- "Signs Painted", Polyhedron #70; April, 1992; TSR, Inc.
- Communications Director, Coliseum of Comics, Orlando, FL - http://coliseumofcomics.com/ |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2004 : 15:07:35
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Hello, all. Thy Hooded One. Ed is busy ferrying wife to medical appointments for the first half of today, and I’ll not presume to answer for him, but I feel moved to point out a logical fallacy in your post, Jerryd.
I’m not disagreeing with your conclusions about widows (and I doubt Ed will, given what I’ve seen of the Realms in well over a decade of Realmsplay), but this sentence of yours is suspect: “It seems obvious to me from this that the peoples of Faerûn would place a high value on fertility and childbirth.”
You’re assuming superb communications, clerical near-unanimity, and a societal consensus here. Folk tend to value highly what is rare and unusual, not what is commonplace. If fertility and pregnancy are everpresent, it’s merely “the normal state of affairs,” and for most common folk there’s little awareness of overall population losses, only of local deaths and bereavements.
kuje31, please tell Kezghan that his request for particulars of our Knights characters can’t be honoured. As Faraer pointed out, it amounts to sabotaging our campaign (however unintentionally), and is in fact written in to the release forms we all signed, so long ago, for each of our characters.
Ed will return with more replies as soon as he can.
love to all,
THO
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2004 : 23:51:37
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quote:
Originally posted by TheHermit
Just to point out here, but there's not really much evidence that the medieval practice of jus primae noctis (law of the first night) (or droit du seigneur (the lord's right), if you prefer) existed. It may have perhaps existed in a limited fashion in some areas of Europe (mostly as a way to levy more taxes/fees), but certainly not to the extent believed in modern popular culture, and certainly not in England or Scotland during the time of Edward I. (Braveheart should come with a label that says "Not to be mistaken for actual history.")
Too true - but in a fantasy world like the Realms with lots of evil gods and cults, you could see it being quite prevalent in places like the backward fringes of Calimshan, Unther and Thay.
Oh, and I loved your sig. Made me grab my "Inside Raven's Bluff" accessory and look you up! Thanks Joe.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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The Blind Ranger
Acolyte
USA
15 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2004 : 00:09:25
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Heh, a Lordship indeed, bequethed to those who know how to wield them (i.e. safely and securely on the shelf, where it won't hurt anybody ;)
Thanks for the thorough reply on couriers etc. Ed, much obliged!
I'm curious though, what sorts of fruit are grown where in Faerûn? I'm mostly interested in the Sword Coast and the North if it helps you to narrow your answer down without devoting over much attention to it (as I know there are many of us vying for your answers here).
Also, is there any significance to Elminster's sigil that you could enlighten us about?
Ever an ally of the Realms,
The Blind Ranger |
I see what I need when my sight is not enough. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2004 : 01:17:06
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Hello, all. I bring Ed’s answer to Taelohn (re. “lusty business”):
Taelohn, the ability to wield spellfire is usually inherited, yes, but very unreliably (it may manifest generations down a bloodline from the ‘last’ hurler-of-spellfire). So it’s by no means even to be expected that the son or daughter of a spellfire-wielder will themselves be able to hurl spellfire (remember, it’s usually been so rare in the Realms that the folk belief that ‘the gods only let one person at a time wield spellfire’ was able to both exist and persist).
With that said, of course if you as DM want your spellfire-wielder player character’s offspring to also be a spellfire-wielder, of course they will be. However, there ARE other things to consider. The ability to handle spellfire IS very rare, despite the fecundity of the Realms, so perhaps the gods DO restrict its use.
Yes, it would “be possible that some other folks out there might want such a thing.” However, few women would want to be among those to bear and mother a spellfire-wielder, because if they know about spellfire at all, they know too things: it’s dangerous, and a lot of powerful wizards seem to want to get spellfire, and are prepared to do almost anything to get it.
Certain women in the Realms may be as naive and stupid as any other grouping of Faerunian lifeforms, but folklore and rumours in Faerun will swiftly and very colourfully supply whatever might not have occurred to them, from the “Wizards will enslave me to get my child, and slaughter me the moment it’s born” to: “Wizards will rape me magically to get me pregnant, and then twist me into something inhuman, spell to spell, to give my unborn child various powers” to: “Wizards and priests and rulers from all over Faerun will come to capture me with swords and spells and commanded monsters, and kidnap and slay everyone I hold dear to compel me to behave thus and so, only to be slain by the NEXT wizard or priest or ruler -- and I and my friends and neighbours and our homes will be caught right in the middle of all their fighting.”
The exceptions to such attitudes might be found in these three small subgroups of women: insane (megalomania) women who ARE rulers or powerful clergy or mages; devout female priests whose doctrines of faith (as stretched by superiors, perhaps) could embrace such a role; and frustrated wealthy social-climbers [successful merchant families] who’ve realized that they’re being permanently shut out of local nobility, and so have nothing to lose in their attempts to become REALLY special. ‘Real’ noble females would never go for this unless very jaded, lonely, or insane, because deviance from the norm within their elite means loss of status as part of that elite (in other words, they could be shunned and lose their nobility).
If your spellfire-wielding character has access to any of those groups, we have a ‘perhaps.’ A possibility tempered with the fears of such women about being caught in the crossfire of power groups ambitious to gain spellfire, and with the dangers you’ve pointed out that the PC will bring down on his own head by going about announcing his power. He will of course have to demonstrate his own spellfire ability, or a rather large percentage of women will treat him as real-world women do any man who makes ‘special powers’ claims: prove it, baby, or it’s just another line spun by someone who wants to get into my pants. (Of course, as you speculated, the PC’s rank and charisma will come into play here.)
Certainly a woman of any of the groups mentioned above (or a woman controlled by a power group), could offer the PC several thousands in gold for his seed (probably not more, because they’ll play up the “unproven reliability” of his passing on the power, in order to keep the price low), BUT if the PC thinks for more than a few hours (and isn’t governed by recklessness), that notion that “Once they have my seed, or perhaps my child with proven powers, they’ll have me ‘make’ a second one, just in case, and then they’ll be almost certain to slay me to keep their spellfire rare and valuable. Or they’ll enslave me somewhere to turn out their own private army of spellfire-children whom they can train and indoctrinate from birth to serve them. The moment any of my sons reach puberty, I the un-indoctrinated one am surplus to their needs!”
Of course, all of this probable activity flows from a lot of people taking the idea of inherited spellfire seriously, and to answer that part of your question, yes, the general idea probably IS sound. So then it comes down to “How much excitement do you want in your life?”
To highlight the choice facing your PC, let’s spin a sideline fantasy (hey, bear with me here, this is what I do for a living). Say another of your players had a female character, who knew for certain (because a god had told her so, privately) that she, and anyone who came into sexual contact with her, would become immune to a plague that is very rapidly killing all other humans. She knows the god is right, because she’s nursed her entire dying family, covered often in their bodily messes, and although they’ve all died, she’s just fine. In fact, she’s the only one left alive in her village, as desperate humans from everywhere else flee through it, heading they know not where, in a probably vain attempt to escape the plague (she can tell that many of these people are fleeing it). Does she dare tell anyone she can “save” them? If she wants to save someone, how will she do it and not then be forced into sex with anyone who has magic or physical might to overcome her? How can she retain the power of choice? Or will it just be easier to say nothing, and try to lie low and avoid being killed by the desperate folk fleeing everywhere?
That’s the flipside of “Hey, perhaps I can get women to PAY me for sleeping with them, whether or not I’ll manage to fill the world with spellfire-wielders!” The religious beliefs of the PC will come into play in this decision, too -- because the gods of the Realms are real to folk of Faerun, and this is important enough to not merely be left to the PC consulting a local priest, but will instead probably get the PC a manifestation in his waking lap, or dream-vision-visitations in which the god or a servant of the god will make some powerful suggestions as to what the PC might do (my little parable of the plague-immune woman might be one such vision).
A great question, Taelohn, and a fascinating ingredient for campaign play. I’m not trying to influence you one way or the other on allowing it; as DM, responsibility for entertaining your players is yours, and so ‘the call’ on this must be yours, too.
Just remember that Azoun was a special case. He had great charisma and an even greater reputation, causing almost hero-worship among the majority of Cormyrean commoners -- who knew, on the basis of his past performance, that there were so many bastard offspring ‘out there’ already that bearing the King’s child WASN’T going to bring them unwelcome attention from War Wizards or nobles (or Sembians or anyone else) wanting to capture royal offspring for some plot or other. Azoun was so revered among Purple Dragons, especially, that there are many instances of women offering themselves to Azoun for a night with the full eager, admiring consent of their husbands. That attitude probably wouldn’t be extended to the PC you mention, coming through the door with a cheesy grin on his face as he says something akin to: “Hi, I’m Joe, and I’m a spellfire-wielder. Care to pay me for enjoying my favours?”
I’m going to stop typing now, before I inspire the lovely Lady Hooded to think up something REALLY provocative. I can just HEAR her evil chuckles, reading the last few lines I typed, above.
So saith Ed. And so right you are, Cuddly Bearded Thing -- oop, EXCUSE me, Exalted Master of the Realms and Great Sage Unsurpassed. So . . . when were you planning on trying to give ME spellfire?
love to all,
THO
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Edited by - The Hooded One on 06 Nov 2004 01:18:54 |
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Jerryd
Acolyte
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2004 : 07:06:58
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Thank you very much, Alaundo! And thank you Wooly Rupert as well!
And to the Hooded One:
quote:
Thank you, Alaundo. I suspect Ed's most recent NDAs are going to stop him from even commenting on Jerryd's (ahem, Jerry D--'s) Cormyr files, but I'll pass them on, never fear.
An NDA regarding a work that features Cormyr's Imperial Navy? Wow. I suppose that the overall subject or working title of that work (novel? sourcebook?) is also an NDA.
quote:
Hello, all. Thy Hooded One. Ed is busy ferrying wife to medical appointments for the first half of today, and I’ll not presume to answer for him, but I feel moved to point out a logical fallacy in your post, Jerryd.
I’m not disagreeing with your conclusions about widows (and I doubt Ed will, given what I’ve seen of the Realms in well over a decade of Realmsplay), but this sentence of yours is suspect: “It seems obvious to me from this that the peoples of Faerûn would place a high value on fertility and childbirth.”
You’re assuming superb communications, clerical near-unanimity, and a societal consensus here. Folk tend to value highly what is rare and unusual, not what is commonplace. If fertility and pregnancy are everpresent, it’s merely “the normal state of affairs,” and for most common folk there’s little awareness of overall population losses, only of local deaths and bereavements.
I don't see the logical fallacy, myself. I'm not assuming suberb communications. I'm not assuming any knowledge of continent-wide demographics or statistics at all. I'll repost what Ed originally said:
quote:
It HAS to be that way to feed all of these folk, and there HAVE to be a lot of folk, or (most of the species of) dragons (a very-firmly-bolted-on element of the game) would starve.
...
To my way of thinking, this fertility MUST be present, or none of the races would ever produce enough bodies to fight all of these wars and still have civilizations (of sorts) standing -- or to fill the slave markets (and country) of Thay.
This to me indicates that even at the small village level, the folk know that they need to keep their own numbers up. They're fully aware of the local casualty rate due to the hazards of monsters, and know that they need a high birth rate simply to survive as a community. They don't need superb communications or knowledge of continental demographics or death rates to know that their survival is at stake. If they know they need to keep their numbers up thus need a high birth rate, it's my opinion that this will necessarily lead them to value fertility and childbirth. It's true that people tend to value what is rare and unusual, but that's just economics. People value survival at an even more basic level, and for the most part will do what they have to do to achieve it. If that means placing a high value on fertility and childbirth to compensate for a higher mortality rate, then that's what the local society and culture will do. People will value what's necessary for survival even when it's commonplace. The clerics will reinforce this, because the gods will get no benefit if their worshippers are all killed off, so that will provide at least some measure of clerical near-unanimity at least in support of their own worshippers (many clerics likely will not care about the survival of the worshippers of opposing deities). |
Edited by - Jerryd on 06 Nov 2004 07:09:01 |
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Taelohn
Acolyte
36 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2004 : 07:28:55
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Heh heh, excellent... this gives a lot to consider, to be sure. Many thanks, Exalted Master of the Realms and Great Sage Unsurpassed.
And best of luck to you, THO. Any other special powers you're looking for? |
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Verghityax
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2004 : 07:43:54
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Dear Ed,
I thank Thee very, very much for help. Yet, there are few more things about Baldur's Gate I would like to know:
1) Where is the "Splurging Sturgeon" tavern marked on map? And it would be really great if You could write something about this place since there is nothing about it in "Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast".
2) Is Ravenscar's guild still active? If yes, what are they up to recently and how influential are they?
3) Since Gond's Hall of Wonders is described pretty well could You spare any info on the city's other temples and shrines?
4) Are there any chances of You giving names of few more streets, wharves etc. in Baldur's Gate?
5) And finally, has anything noteworthy happened in Baldur's Gate in recent years?
I thank Thee in advance for any help. |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2004)
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