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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Aug 2021 : 00:13:34
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On the current activity of the Soft Claws
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1430891038768517120
Aug 26 2021
@richlore88
@TheEdVerse, what have the Soft Claws been up to?
@TheEdVerse
My throat.
Er, more seriously: NDA in place due to computer license.
Which should tell you that they still exist and are still active.
I can go so far as to say their spying extends as far as Sembia, Tharsult, and the Moonshaes. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2021 : 01:16:45
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On youths not registering with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1431287033826250759
Aug 28 2021
@MissMartinsen
Great Sage, @TheEdVerse
If there were a mage prodigy who could not afford registering with the Watchful Order, how would its members handle a such a youth living in the Deep?
I’ve need to burn this bridge as I stand on it!
Mystra keep you, as always. ;)
@TheEdVerse
It depends entirely on what the youth does, magically, in public. If they avoid working magic in the streets or before strangers, by daylight, they should be fine (there are SCORES of such folk living happily in the Deep, right now).
If they get arrested by the Watch for some magical activity, they'll get "interviewed" in private by the Watchful Order, who will firmly inform them of what's legal and polite in the way of spellcasting behaviour, and what's not. They will be shadowed (by a network of spies, not a lone Order member) from that moment on, no matter what their response, unless they formally join the Order.
Individuals who lack coin to join are usually offered the opportunity to train, as novices, under an Order minder; the price for this is to participate in halfday/overnight missions with Order members, about once a month. (That way the Order gets to openly watch them, school them on how to behave, and get some work out of them.) If they perform well (eagerly but with discipline, not lazily or sullenly or miscasting magic), they will usually get offered a cut rate annual fee (for the first three years) to join the Order.
What the Order and the Palace want to avoid is a resentful, willful, untrained adolescent using magic on folk around them. Exile is an option. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2021 : 01:16:08
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On dwarven words for 1 to 10.
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432126522572345355
Aug 30 2021
@gkrashos
Hi Ed! You might just have this answer at your fingertips - what are the dwarven words for the numbers 1-10?
@TheEdVerse
Sure!
One = emp
Two = velemp
Three = geth
Four = duan
Five = trant
Six = velgeth
Seven = noan
Eight = ortel
Nine = gelgeth
Ten = ultrant
Score (Twenty) = veltrant
Hundred = trantrant
Two Hundred = veltrantran
Three Hundred = gethtrantran
{pattern follows, up to:}
Thousand = clantul
One Hundred and Three = trantrant’a’geth
Two Hundred and Sixteen = veltrantran’a’ultrant’a’velgeth
[pronunciation of veltrantran’a’ultrant’a’velgeth is: “Vell-TRAN-tran-ah-ULL-trant-ah-vell-GETH” and dwarves usually stress the second syllable of a long compound word, and the final one]
Note that in a prayer or temple proclamation, all numbers are spoken thus: "[name of deity] + number + [name of deity]" |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2021 : 01:18:53
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On patron deities for Robin Hood type paladins.
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432127354407694343
Aug 30 2021
@silencedCRNA
Is there a deity in the Realms a Robin Hood type Paladin could use as a patron. The paladin is always giving to the poor and defending the innocent but maybe a little unorthodox in how he does it.
@TheEdVerse
Sure. Ilmater and Tymora are two deities who spring to mind right away, and there are others (Shaundakul, Lurue, etc.) |
Edited by - questing gm on 31 Aug 2021 02:49:33 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2021 : 02:24:45
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On how Waterdeep and Cormyr nobles think of each other.
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432467141396213761
Aug 31 2021
@LawyeredDan
How do Cormyr's nobles perceive Waterdhavian nobility, considering Waterdeep's nobles are only a few generations from common merchants. What does Waterdeep's nobility think of Cormyr's nobility?
@TheEdVerse
Well, to begin, both groups tell the same joke about each other: “You’re assuming they THINK.”
Second, please remember that what I say here is a stereotype/generalization that may fail when applied to specific individuals in both groups (because both groups have enough wealth to indulge eccentricities as opposed to just grubbing out a living, so individuals have a chance to “be themselves”/acquire odd and varied experience more than the general populace, if they’re inclined to).
Third, there are noble families that bridge both groups, like the Roaringhorns (widespread families found in both Waterdeep and Cormyr), that mitigate against some of the wilder rumours/misinformation about “the other camp.”
Fourth, it varies by generation. Younger generations tend to rebel against the views and attitudes of their parents, and if older generations hate or despise “those other nobles,” the younger may not just because of that, and because they dislike what they grew up with and are curious about what things are like elsewhere and may travel there or dream of traveling there and entertain fantasies about it being “better” there, as opposed to just “different.” Also part of this generational spread of attitudes: to younger nobles in both places, the others have increasingly “always been there,” because the Spellplague and Sundering were such huge jolts that “what happened before” is increasingly ‘ancient history’ in the minds of most people, even most nobles of these two groups.
However, the TRADITIONAL ‘strongest’ (worst) attitudes, still to be found amongst the least-traveled and so, most closed-minded (and usually also haughty and pompous) older nobles, are these:
Nobles of Cormyr think that nobles of Waterdeep are stupendously rich, are crooked, lying double-dealers by nature and daily practice, and that they bought their titles and have no more refinement nor good breeding than what they can ape by watching noble characters in older, ‘standard’ plays and bardic recitations.
Nobles of Waterdeep think that nobles of Cormyr are dimwitted, reckless, break-their-necks-often while riding their magnificent horses hayseeds who all have large country estates, and are really jumped-up farmers who look down their noses at everyone else to try to conceal their inbred insanity and their lack of any education at all. (Though, grudgingly, some Waterdhavian nobles will grant that SOME Cormyrean nobles are “real nobles,” the exceptions being everyone ennobled because they managed to bed some royal a century back, or save the neck of some other royal two centuries back.)
From these worst attitudes, views soften, particularly among the many nobles who have set up trade and moneylending and investment alliances with “those others” and benefitted thereby.
Which all goes to show that nobles are as human as the rest of us. (Or as the old jest adds, “When they try hard to be.”) |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2021 : 02:27:13
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On armies/militaries in the Realms and their tactics.
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432217960937148422
Aug 30 2021
@groudon466
Where can I read more about armies/militaries in the Realms? Especially their tactics.
@TheEdVerse
A good place to start is FR12 Horde Campaign. 2e and 3e regional sourcebooks also have a lot of realm-specific information, scattered across them. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2021 : 02:31:08
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On racially inclusive gods/goddesses.
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432216979524423685
Aug 30 2021
@Michael75535436
In your opinion which God/Goddess would be the most racially inclusive? The one who would most want racial unity in the Realms?
I guess I mean which one(s) actively promote their followers to seek cooperation and unity with other sentient races (i.e. want dwarves, humans, elfs, ext... to unify or at least find peace)
@TheEdVerse
Chauntea, Mielikki, Eldath, Silvanus, Lurue, Yondalla, Sheela Peryroyl, Labelas Enoreth, and Ilmater.
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2021 : 02:36:28
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On the form of Waukeen's Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardian.
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432205114463379457
Aug 30 2021
@SuperGeorge3333
What form would a cleric of Waukeen’s Spiritual Weapon spell take? Or their Spirit Guardians? Thanks in advance.
@TheEdVerse
The preferred spiritual weapon form for a cleric of Waukeen is a chain of alternating razor-sharp-edged coins (gilded, but hard alloy, not soft gold) and gilded links of chain, wielded like a flail.
The Spirit Guardian usually takes the form of whirling columns of many disembodied human hands, counting stacks of phantom coins (spectral gold discs that appear and disappear constantly as they leave or approach the moving fingers of the hands). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2021 : 02:39:48
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On priests of Ilmater fighting evil with arms
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432197594785136640
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432202253646114817
Aug 30 2021
@MythicalSong
Under what circumstances would a Priest of Ilmater fight evil with arms? Would defending the innocent and helpless be sufficient cause to in worse case scenario kill? What about righting a great wrong or injustice?
@AppPhlogiston
A follow-up to this: how strongly would they tend to using non-lethal or non-violent means to resolve such a situation? Do they feel they have a duty to offer such an opponent a chance to surrender, or is the prevention of suffering more important?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, and yes. Priests of Ilmater believe in enduring pain for themselves, in pursuit of their holy service, not in letting others be oppressed, attacked, or tortured, or wantonly slain.
Non-lethal or non-violent and chance to surrender if possible, but no hesitation to slay if need be, and a priest of Ilmater won’t stop fighting while making such an offer if the unjust or belligerent party is continuing to charge/attack/press forward against others. |
Edited by - questing gm on 31 Aug 2021 02:48:22 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2021 : 02:42:27
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On numbers in Draconic
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432196659790983171
Aug 30 2021
@ZeromaruX
Can you share the Draconic words for numbers?
@TheEdVerse
Certainly.
One = ir (pronounced “urr”)
Two = do (“doe” or “doah”)
Three = klau (“claw”)
Four = tveth (“tuh-VETH”)
Five = kloal (“kuh-LOW-ull”)
Six = saqqa (“sah-KWUH”)
Seven = tlokel (“tuh-LOCK-ell”)
Eight = hrist (“hur-ISSSt”)
Nine = vaeve (“VAY-vuh”)
Ten = vok (“VOKE” to rhyme with “woke”)
Dragons of Toril generally count by sixes (groups of six): one group of six is saqqa, twelve is two groups of six and so, “dosaqqa” (doe-sah-KWUH”), eighteen is three groups of six and so, “klausaqqa,” and so on.
Sixty or voksaqqa functions somewhat like a hundred for Common Tongue speakers, being the “larger group” (for dragons, usually counting the size of a herd or edibles, or a group of humans/demi-humans/humanoids on the move or in a settlement) unit.
So instead of two hundred, three hundred, and so on, most dragons count in sixties: voksaqqa, then “saqqado” for one hundred and twenty, then “saqqaklau” for one hundred and eighty, and so on.
If a dragon is counting precisely for an amount above sixty: for 63, the count is rendered “klaulasaqqa.” In Draconic, 366 is “saqqalasaqqatlokel.” (Yes, 300 is “saqqasaqqa.”)
For many dragons, precise counting is for hoards or dragons; for other creatures, they often count "a few" = lauth or "many" = throden. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2021 : 02:47:19
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On the word for transgender in different languages
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432200822230851584
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432446900452667399
Aug 30 2021
@Sundered_Ant
This is different from what I usually ask, but I saw your mention of the term used for transgender in Common, "Sildur". Having many trans friends, it got me wondering - what term is used in the major demihuman languages? Particularly Dwarvish/Gnomish/Halfling/Jotun.
@TheEdVerse
Sure!
Dwarvish: Thulol
Elvish: Alun
Gnome: Thoulal
Goblin: Urdesk
Halfling: Zalshaer
Jotun: Jertrut
Orc: Dezek
@Sundered_Ant
I super appreciate the response Ed especially you delivering more languages than originally asked. Though I must say, I am surprised that the goblin and orc languages have a word for it. Didn't think their societies would recognize such a thing.
@TheEdVerse
Orc and goblin societies of the Realms include lots of spotting subtle signs, and shifts and changes of any sort in individuals, to minimize open violence within the society. Just as there's more barking (blustering posturing) than biting (fighting). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2021 : 00:17:12
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On the Elder Rune
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432725015972175874
Aug 31 2021
@Irrevrykal
Alae! In your Forging the Realms article on the beholder game of the Vellurith, one of the stated goals is "Subvert the Elder Rune or Larloch and his liches". Is that supposed to be the Twisted Rune, or is this a distinct sinister lich cabal?
@TheEdVerse
A distinct cabal. And their name proclaims what they're interested in, which is a rune that subverts other runes and so can open wards, unseal bindings, and open or close gates/portals.
Oh, and congratulations: you've stumbled on one of the secrets of the Realms! |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2021 : 00:24:00
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On the elvish word for sinner and difference between elven and elvish
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432918407268245505
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1432921824925528065
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433224348521934851
Sep 1 2021
@haltermandoug
I'm surprised to be having trouble finding this, since gods are so prominent in the FR, but what's the Elf word for "sinner"? (Also, in Common do the elves call their language Elvish or Elven?)
@walkequi
How much of the Torilian elvish language/alphabet do you have written up?
@grymhild
What about "vyshaan"
@TheEdVerse
In Torilian Elvish, vaarn = evil and thar = good, but a sinner is a “god-enemy” and so: arsurinyahakar (arsurinya = god/deity + hakar – enemy).
Elvish is the language, “elven” is something tangible, an item made by elven hands or that is “of an elf” (such as hands, in the phrase I just used, “elven hands”). An elf would speak of an “elvish” idea or word or philosophy, but an “elven” arrow or bead or ring.
Thanks to @gkrashos tirelessly compiling lexicons for many tongues, and the creativity of many folks working in the Realms down the years, we have a pretty good bare-bones beginning: about 600 Elvish words. And I created Espruar and another elven script 52 years ago.
I'd use that ("vyshaan") as a word for "mad with power, will do ANYTHING to get more." (Applied only to elves, of course.)
And THAT, gentles, is how the lexicons grow. Té salutant, Shannon!
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Edited by - questing gm on 03 Sep 2021 00:38:41 |
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Sunderstone
Learned Scribe
104 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2021 : 05:55:39
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Hi Ed. I am commissioning a friend of mine to do another Piergeiron and Madeiron piece. I am going to have Madeiron doing something insanely and impossibly strong. Do you have any suggestions based on you memories of his exploits? Thanks!!!
@TheEdVerse
Sure. Madeiron standing on the rail of a Waterdhavian caravel, one arm hooked around taut bent rigging lines for support, leaning out and catching the bowsprit of a (larger) pirate caravel that was trying to ram (without……actually having a ramspike built onto it, but they were counting on superior size, weight, and velocity, running on a “fair breeze” under full sail, crunching them into the hull of their target) the caravel he (and……Piergeiron, who was watching) were aboard. Madeiron caught hold of the bowsprit and shoved the ramming ship away, fending it by sheer strength so the two ships ended up broadsiding each other (bump, but no ram)—and then he……SHOVED the pirate vessel away as pirates scrambled to board, so many of them fell into the sea. The pirates fled. |
Edited by - Sunderstone on 02 Sep 2021 05:56:28 |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3285 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2021 : 08:00:29
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quote:
Oh, and congratulations: you've stumbled on one of the secrets of the Realms!
I am finding this VERY intriguing... |
"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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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2021 : 00:49:13
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On Ed's involvement in The Horde campaign
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433232533618106368
Sep 2 2021
@groudon466
Looking at Horde Campaign now, I'm a little surprised not to see your name on it. Did they consult you when making it?
@TheEdVerse
Yes and no. I was consulted about everything in some manner, in the launch years of the Realms, but for that one, beyond “we’re going to do an Osprey” (referring to the publisher of that name, and their line of historical military books, which format FR12 models fairly closely), not directly. The Tuigan Horde invasion was an in-house idea, borrowing from real-world history (Genghis Khan, the Mongol Horde), to provide a geographical link to the forthcoming Kara-Tur product (also an in-house project, to link with the Oriental Adventures sourcebook Zeb Cook was putting together for Gary Gygax).
I loved the way FR12 turned out (great clarity, did provide a travelogue) but am no fan of too-close or direct real-world analogues in the Realms. |
Edited by - questing gm on 01 Nov 2021 03:19:21 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2021 : 00:52:14
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On Sardior the Ruby Dragon and Ruby Dragonborns
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433225553255993345
Sep 2 2021
@themightytink
I hope you and the family are well. Realms Lore question for you and Elminster if I may.
Sardior is described as a the Unique Ruby Gem Dragon (very cool). Does that mean there are no Ruby Dragonborn (if any Gem Dragonborn in the Realms)? Cheers
@TheEdVerse
None. Sardior keeps to himself. As far as the world knows. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2021 : 00:54:44
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On spellcasters charging their own Spellfire
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433222120620888069
Sep 2 2021
@Heimdayl
Question regarding Spellfire - could a mage or sorcerer, who is also a true spellfire wielder, use their own magic to charge themselves?
@TheEdVerse
No. Sets up a feedback loop. The moment they try, there'll be sickening pain, they'll start to shudder uncontrollably, and they'll reel, unable to continue.
They CAN charge their spellfire by just using it to subsume memorized, uncast spells, but the gain is small. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2021 : 03:07:32
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On favorite deities
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433580580436910086
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433587976240570373
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1436173455548985348
Sep 3 2021
@Michael75535436
Of all the deities you've created who is your favorite and why?
Who would you dine with? I'd go with Helm, Torm, Umberlee, and Eilistraee.
@TheEdVerse
Sorry, I don't have a favourite deity. There are deities I'd want to dine with more than others, but I don't play the favourites game.
I’d go with Mystra and Azuth because I’m always fascinated to learn more about magic, with Eldath and Lurue and Shaundakul to learn about the remote places of the Realms, with Selune and Mielikki and Eilistraee and Tymora to learn more about particular things that intrigue me about the Realms, and with Sune and Sharess to flirt. If I needed comforting from Mom, I’d seek out Chauntea.
@RossFisherDavis
Conversely, who would be the absolute worst dinner partners?
@TheEdVerse
Moander. Malar, if you don't like everything tartare. And Loviatar, because I don't think we'd get around to the eating. ;}
- edited to add new question and answer from Sep 10 2021 |
Edited by - questing gm on 11 Sep 2021 02:14:42 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 03 Sep 2021 : 03:12:40
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On the Children of the Starry Quill
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433588767173005318
Sep 3 2021
@MissMartinsen
Greetings Great Sage! I've two questions today.
First: How do you fare?
Second: In some book (I believe Faiths and Avatars) there's mention of The Children of the Starry Quill. Could you elaborate on their tasks?
Oh, and send my love to Mirt if you see him!
@TheEdVerse
Heh. When I next see Mirt, I’ll relay that. Careful; he may come to see you (beware approaching wheezing noises). ;}
Me, I’m okay. Getting older, but getting creative projects done, and that always feels good.
Faiths & Avatars is indeed where you’ll find the Starry Quill. A bardic order that’s alive and well. A few of its members reside in cities and stay put, but many travel as performers, and in either case their main duties are to covertly pass messages (usually memorized, not written) between particular clergy of Mystra and/or wizards, at the behest of Mystran clergy or Chosen, and to spy for Mystran clergy: that is, to watch for specific people, things, or events, and report their observations to another order member or Chosen or cleric of Mystra. So they’re passive spies, far more than “active agents” of the James Bond sort; they don’t usually go eavesdropping by getting onto balconies or into dwellings not their own, they just watch “the passing parade” without seeming to do so.
On rarer occasions, they’ll pass scrolls or spellbooks (often rescued from a dying wizard or a damaged hiding-place) to clergy of Mystra, or even distribute such things for those with the Gift to find (the same sort of “spreading magic” that the Chosen do).
On rarer occasions still, they’ll be used to spread rumors to make Mystra or her church or wizards be seen more favourably by everyone else (i.e. as influencers/propagandists), but this role is used very sparingly because if you cry wolf all the time, folk stop heeding you. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2021 : 01:10:40
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On factions within the Lords of Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433852466047684608
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433859823691603969
Sep 4 2021
@MarvelF89471649
Hi Ed! Were there factions with the Lords of Waterdeep? i.e., Mirt had his fellow lords hein would most rely on, Khelban his, Piergeiron his, etc.?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, in the sense of groups of friends and allies a particular Lord would most rely on. However, this didn't always translate into reliable voting blocs, so the Lords still "worked" as a government and not a battlefield.
@MarvelF89471649
Thanks!! So it was mostly a matter of who's counsel they most appreciated when faced with difficult situations but in matters that affected this city at large they were mostly in concert with each other or working together on common strategy?
@TheEdVerse
Indeed. All of the Lords were self-interested, but none of them lacked a view of the common good/larger picture for their city and their region, and there was no left-wing/right-wing ideology (as we know it), no "other" among us. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 04 Sep 2021 : 01:17:22
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On Laeral Silverhand's portfolio if granted godhood
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433851588448329731
Sep 4 2021
@groudon466
Storytime and a question for you, from a Realms campaign I was in a couple years ago (Dungeon of the Mad Mage, somewhat altered). At the end of our adventure, Halaster Blackcloak ascended to godhood using a device derived from the Soulmonger. His portfolio consisted of Madness, Home Defense, and the spreading of the ability to use magic (in a chaotic and reckless manner, contrary to how Mystra might like it). As part of a deal with the party, however (in exchange for us protecting him during the ritual), he agreed to share the godhood with someone of our choice- eventually, Laeral Silverhand was settled on, and when we extended the offer at the last minute, she accepted. When the campaign ended, however, I don't think the DM had come up with her portfolio. Which leads to my question as a fun hypothetical: If Laeral Silverhand were granted godhood, with Mystra and Azuth still around, what do you suppose her portfolio would be?
@TheEdVerse
The Bringer Of Small Magics To All. As in, giving "just plain folks" everywhere enough magic to light and cook and keep themselves warm, and to mend things and fend off attacks (shield, ironguard), feather fall, and message. Small healings, mold removal, etc. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2021 : 02:21:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Sunderstone
Hi Ed. I am commissioning a friend of mine to do another Piergeiron and Madeiron piece. I am going to have Madeiron doing something insanely and impossibly strong. Do you have any suggestions based on you memories of his exploits? Thanks!!!
@TheEdVerse
Sure. Madeiron standing on the rail of a Waterdhavian caravel, one arm hooked around taut bent rigging lines for support, leaning out and catching the bowsprit of a (larger) pirate caravel that was trying to ram (without……actually having a ramspike built onto it, but they were counting on superior size, weight, and velocity, running on a “fair breeze” under full sail, crunching them into the hull of their target) the caravel he (and……Piergeiron, who was watching) were aboard. Madeiron caught hold of the bowsprit and shoved the ramming ship away, fending it by sheer strength so the two ships ended up broadsiding each other (bump, but no ram)—and then he……SHOVED the pirate vessel away as pirates scrambled to board, so many of them fell into the sea. The pirates fled.
Sep 4 2021
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1434178777098199040
@MarvelF89471649
Hi Ed, I have another question on the Madeiron info you gave me. In discussing the commission with my friend, would he and Piegeiron be in their armor? Or would they be wearing something different on a sailing excursion? Thanks!!!
@TheEdVerse
At sea, they'd not be wearing armor (beyond bracers and hardened leather shoulderpads). They'd be wearing surcoats emblazoned with the arms of Waterdeep on the breast, deity on the back, over leather breeches, thigh-high boots, and plain but well-made shirts (puff sleeves, pleated, open-front "pirate shirts"), which during cold weather or early morn or near sundown, would be replaced by heavier high-collar tunics. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2021 : 02:26:46
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On honeycakes
https://twitter.com/e_cunningham/status/1433944544513515525
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1433987008309964804
Sep 4 2021
A question on food for two game designers - I have seen “honeycakes” mentioned in many of (Elaine Cunningham's) Realms novels and a few of (Ed)’s sourcebooks, but never are they described.
What exactly are they? What’s it look like/made of? Are they based on a real desert?
@e_cunningham
I envision them as similar to German lebkuchen, made with honey and spices and cut into small squares.
@TheEdVerse
I agree! Sword Coast versions usually have no nuts or very few, and are light on lemon and orange peel. The farther east and south you go, the more of both you'll find in them. Oh, and many farmhouse honeycakes aren't cut into small anything; they're big discs. :} |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2021 : 00:48:35
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On detectives in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1434608238499180549
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1285260339165253633
Sep 6 2021
@RobertWThomson
Are there detectives or something similar among the members of the City Watch of Waterdeep?
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Here’s my reply to that same question, back on July 20/20: The position of such Special Agents (currently 14 strong) in the chain of command has shifted. As they’ve so often had to investigate possible Watch corruption, they now report directly to the Open Lord first, and to the top two tiers of Watch command second. (Thanks to certain corrupt fellow officers, “accidents” befell several of them before the Watch learned how diligently Vajra investigates such mishaps. Now that Laeral’s on the scene—and Mirt!—no more such accidents happen.
Best talent for a Special Agent: knowing citizens and city life well enough to understand WHY a crime was committed. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2021 : 00:51:32
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On the status of Shiallia
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1434549807515844615
Sep 6 2021
@Rantfiend_
Hi! I was wondering what is the current status of the goddess Shiallia? Is she still alive and well?
@TheEdVerse
Shiallia is alive and well, and manifest in the vibrant health of The High Forest, which is lush and largely free of blight and disease, and growing at a great rate: woodcutters working on its verges say the forest regrows almost as fast as they can cut down trees. Floating, glowing golden acorns provide guidance to her clerics, druids, woodwives, and those she desires to recruit to their ranks or whom she wants to aid (these flying guides are spectral, not physical; they can’t be captured). Shiallia never appears in person as herself these days, only as a voice in the trees or in dreams and a golden glow. Sometimes she does leave apple-sized golden acorns for mortals to find, in the heart of deep glades in The High Forest; if these are planted elsewhere, even in rocky, cold, or arid locales, they slowly sprout a forest amd by Shiallia’s magic reach down into the Underdark to tap and pump up water and mineral nutrients to keep that woodland healthy and growing.
If a diseased, poisoned, or wounded mortal sleeps in a glade where any two of Mielikki, Shiallia, Eldath and Lurue have danced, that mortal will be purged of their disease or poison effects, and will regenerate all physical damage. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1143 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2021 : 01:11:36
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On spells and spell ink formulas from the Pages from the Mages articles in Dragon
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1434545553803816973
Sep 5 2021
@AlexMcclay2000
Hi, I have a couple of questions regarding spells and spell ink formulas since I was rereading the Pages from the Mages articles in the Dragon.
1. It seems really expensive to make spell scrolls, like for Read Magic, a 1st level spell, it requires a large blue sapphire. Is it normal for spells formulas to be so expensive? I know that the article mentions that there are other formulas for the same spells, which hopefully are cheaper.
2. The Burning Hands ink formula requires 2 ounces of fire elemental phlogiston. What is that? how Does one get it, or extract that from fire elementals. Do they leave that upon their death in the Material Plane?
3. It mentions that these are for making spell scrolls. Are the same ink formulas required to copy the spell into a spellbook, or from spellbook to spellbook?
I love these details, its so much more interesting than say 5e which just says "100gp per lvl of spell".
I asked for the fire elemental phlogiston because all the other ingredients are self-explanatory.
Small edit: I guess for the Spell ink formulas that require gems and jewels, one could use a rough or uncut version of the gem for 1/10 of the price. Correct me if I'm wrong though, but I've had a similar question before and you mentioned that you could use uncut gems.
@TheEdVerse
Yes, it IS expensive. That’s why most wizards DON’T just spend their lives sitting in an office copying out scrolls and then selling them. They need to go adventuring to get their own ingredients, or get the money to do the basics of making magic. The design thinking at the time was to present players with meaningful choices, the same as most people face in the real world: your pile of painstakingly-saved money can go towards a house, or buy a new car, or buy all new appliances and clothes and have some $ left over; what to choose? But yes, you don’t need to destroy jewelry to get the gem ingredients; as it’s going to end up pulverized into powder anyway, you can use raw, uncut gemstone, fragments of shattered gems, and dust from a jeweler polishing gems.
2. As we saw in SPELLJAMMER, phlogiston is the rainbow-hued, mutable flammable liquid that fills the space between the crystal spheres (Realmspace, Greyspace, etc.) in the Prime Material Plane or to the flammable fluid that permeated it, a rainbow-colored chaotic material that surrounded the spheres. Those who spelljam call the phologiston “the Rainbow Ocean: or “the Flow.” In real-world historical alchemy, phlogiston is a mysterious substance that’s in anything combustible; its hidden presence makes the combustible material able to ignite, and it’s released as a gas in combustion. So that formula requires phlogiston given off by a fire elemental (in its normal flaming, so no fire elemental has to be “killed” to get it, you just have to have some means of trapping some of the air around a fire elemental and then distilling the phlogiston out—yes, that means another step or steps of trapping and distilling, but that’s the whole point: giving a player who’s in-depth roleplaying being a wizard Things To Do). Yes, a dying or sorely wounded wounded fire elemental will give off a large amount of phlogiston.
3. The same spell ink formula are employed for all means of writing scrolls, or even engraving them on metal pages (the grooves must be imbued with the ink), unless magical duplication means are used. So yes, to make scrolls, to copy into a spellbook, or from spellbook to spellbook. Which is one reason many older spellbooks are just spell scrolls from different sources, bound together into a book with pages of notes, explanations, and variants interspersed. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2021 : 19:58:25
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On Khundul, a Western-movie-type area:
@LuGame12
I was wondering, is there any "western film" region within the Forgotten Realms? I was looking for it for a brief campaign.
What I'm looking for is a desert region with abandoned mines (crewed by kobolds or goblins, why not) and some frontier town ruled by sheriff like in Sergio Leone's movies.
@TheEdVerse
The hamlet of Khundul in Raurin, SW of Solon in the desert of Raurin (not far from the Raurinshield Mountains, so not all that far into the desert) should do. It’s located amid parched rolling foothills, with water still to be had in an aquifer, if you dig down forty feet or so. Which, as local legend correctly states, is fed by an underground lake under the Raurinshield Mountains.
That water is why the shallow-dug abandoned copper and iron mines all around Khundul, especially abundant to the north, have a resident monster population; mainly jellies, oozes, and sand spiders—and roving goblin hunting bands can eke out a poor living.
The goblins, known as the Raadvurr after the title of their chieftan (an office, so many goblins have been Raadvurr, the current one being a fat goblin as big as a very large adult human, named Kahvuld) sometimes mount night raids on Khundul, which is one of the few oases in Raurin, and for that reason used to be a stop on the caraven route west out of Solon when gem-caravans still made such journeys (across Raurin and through Midwinter Pass).
Khundul itself is a cluster of about seventy dugout homes and warehouses, about twenty still inhabited and a little more than twenty now abandoned and filled with blown-in sand. There are many local tales of buried and forgotten storage jars in the abandoned homes that are full of gem cargoes, other goods, and even burials of dead caravan escort riders. According to some of the darker tales, some of these latter are “stalkers” (3e: ju-ju zombies) who now steal out of their jars by night to hunt goblins, but leave the Khundese alone except for anyone who disturbs “their” jar.
After a century of subsistence living, Khundul recently experienced an upsurge in trade: hunters and foragers from the town discovered gems scattered around ash-buried Solon, presumably hurled into the air during the volcanic eruptions that ravaged it. Khundese traders soon found that the stone giants of Fuirjar were willing to trade slabs of polished marble in return for these.
Which meant that the greatest feature of Khundul could be exploited again, as the town finally had something to export that was worth the risk: an ancient magical gate (portal) in one of the largest, oldest cavern-warehouses connects with a similar dugout warehouse in the hills just northwest of Zindalankh in Semphar, so marble could be sold to builders there.
Which in turn meant that as Zindalankh prospered, so did Khundul, and its small population of hand-to-mouth inhabitants soon grew very busy sledging marble across Raurin, prospecting for gems, and trading in Zindalankh. Several tough-minded individuals among them rose to prominence in the town, one of them bestowing upon himself the title of Zaor (equivalent to mayor, but it really means sheriff, as he ran and commanded a local law-and-order band of warriors) before being murdered by a rival.
There were several Zaors in swift succession by such rough means, and the current Zaor is a Zindalar (man of Zindalankh), Ulthort Eroun, who is an aging, weathered, cynical corrupt man not entirely devoid of mercy or worldly wisdom, and came to Khundul with his adventuring band, an all-female, ruthless half-dozen Zindalar who grew up poor but determined, in the alleys of that city. The band, known as the Eirbuyad (a local name for the shrike bird), is now Khundul’s hard-bitten town watch, responsibly for keeping order, fighting goblins and other “invaders,” and collecting the Zaor’s taxes, which are a copper coin for all major transactions, building permits, and wagon-parking in the town (comes with latrine and water-pump access).
Life in Khundul remains hard for its hundred-some townsfolk, but getting better, and the Zaor is popular for this reason: he spends most of the taxes he takes on buying smoked, salted and pickled foods in Zindalankh and importing this to Khundul, selling it at a copper above his cost—so everyone eats better in Khundul, these days, and even have full larders. Locals and visitors are exploring the old mines, in hopes of finding fresh veins, but thus far have found more Underdark connections—and more prowling, hungry monsters—than mineral riches. Local legends say there are wizards’ tombs in the hills around Khundul, and if one of these is found and breached, riches and old fell magic—and dread monsters and worse curses—could well be unleashed.
#Realmslore |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2021 : 19:59:50
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Providing a name for a good red dragon NPC:
@BMurpa
Hey Mr Greenwood. Would you bless me by naming my Red dragon Npc with a heart of gold? They have a hopeful optimistic outlook and have changed their nature through great effort and friendship.
@TheEdVerse
Sure. How about "Arautharandur"? ("Arauth" or just "Rauth" for short.)
#Realmslore
@BMurpa
Wow dude you are so cool, thank you so much!. Does it mean anything specific?
@TheEdVerse
It does. :}
ara = true
auth = self (archaic; in modern Draconic: “oth”)
arand = core, heart of
dur = reward, payment (“durah” is to bribe)
So, “Arautharandur” means “true to myself, and that’s my reward”
#Realmslore
@Xer0Dynamite
Given that, I would interpret it to mean: "Being true to oneself is it's own reward."
@TheEdVerse
Agreed, but then, you and I are humans.
Dragons are very self-centered (source: Gary Gygax), so any trait or feature of a name is always "my" first and foremost.
(Gary and I agreed on that at a long-ago Gencon panel, at a time when he WAS D&D, so: canon.)
#Realmslore |
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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Ed Greenwood on Twitter
