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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Oct 2021 : 00:34:33
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On ice in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1453571370969862155
Oct 28 2021
@RpgMatch
Hi @TheEdVerse I've got another obscure Waterdeep question for you: where does ice come from and how common is it?
It's referenced as being used at Seaswealth Hall to pack fish, so they can be distributed around the city for sale. Thanks! #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #waterdeep
@TheEdVerse
In winter, anyone can "harvest wild ice" near Waterdeep, from ponds and marshes and the banks of rivers and streams.
The rest of the year: several nobles with holdings along the banks of the River Dessarin have long-standing agreements with the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors: they provide shifts of Order members with luxurious abodes, meals, and servants, in return for cold spells being cast on water diverted from the river into small holding-channels and basins. The nobles get free ice for their own icehouses and cellars, and a payment from the Order that more than covers the costs of the food and servants (and wine); the Order has agreements with various guilds to provide them with bulk ice; the guilds come and break or saw the ice from the channels and basins, and rush it to Waterdeep in straw-insulated, covered wagons.
The clerics of Goldenfields (and clergy in many other temples across Faerûn) make their own ice with cold spells, for sale and barter locally. Some Goldenfields ice makes its way to Waterdeep, packed around perishable cargoes.
Almost no ice is produced by this method in the city, however, as salt water makes poor ice, and sewer-water even less desirable ice. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2021 : 00:43:18
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On differences between funeral ceremonies for worshipers of Silvanus, Chauntea, and Eldath
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1453576576684146693
Oct 28 2021
@clackclickbang
Well met, Ed! Could you regale me with the differences between funeral ceremonies for worshipers of Silvanus, Chauntea, and Eldath?
@TheEdVerse
Hi again! Sorry for the wait for this one!
All three deities want remains of dead faithful to be returned to the earth by decay, and not by fire in any form (and said remains to be unembalmed and buried without any metal; typically the bodies are stripped, washed, then wrapped in a simple hempen or muslim shroud or old cloak of their own).
All three have ceremonies that follow the overall pattern of: eulogy for the dead, dedication of the dead to the deity, water (or dew) gathered from nature poured over the face of the dead, and then a prayer calling on the deity to receive the soul or spirit of the dead, followed by interrment.
A dead person “dedicated foremost” to Silvanus would be buried under the roots of a tree or interred within a hollow tree or wedged between the trunks of close-growing trees.
A dead person “dedicated foremost” to Chauntea would be buried in a furrow of tilled ground (which can be freshly ploughed or dug by the mourners), which is then turned over atop them and planted with seeds of beneficial (agricultural) plants, from herbs to food crops (but not root crops).
A dead person “dedicated foremost” to Eldath would be shallow-buried in a forest grove, glade, or mossy place, and keep-away spells cast over it to prevent any foraging beast from digging them up for that season at least, so they could begin to decay. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2021 : 00:50:44
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On examples of prayers to the different deities
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1453578219597271041
Oct 28 2021
@newbiedm
Has #dnd ever published examples of prayers to the different deities? drawing a blank... or what church services look like?
@TheEdVerse
It was against the Code of Conduct in the TSR days.
I provided detailed prayers, holy rituals, and private devotions for all of the deities, and they got firmly "forgotten," several times over.
@DireSabbath
Replying to @TheEdVerse and @newbiedm
Not surprising, I could see how those so inclined to, could have misconstrued that info and used it for evidence of the "satanic demon worshipping cultists" that we all were.
@TheEdVerse
Exactly. Same reason TSR killed all the details of devil's talismans from my Hells articles. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 30 Oct 2021 : 03:35:01
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On Velsaert, the Dragon Sage of Baldur's Gate and the continent of Arandron
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1453869491692228609
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1453872532407398406
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454564012142862339
Oct 29 2021
@TheBadCatMan
Hi @TheEdVerse! I'm curious about Velsaert, the Dragon Sage of Baldur's Gate quoted in a lot of the Wyrms of the North articles. What's his story? Was he always secretly a steel dragon? Are the other great dragons of the North really just avoiding him?
@TheEdVerse
Velsaertirden was a steel dragon who hatched in a clutch of eggs in Steelspires, a castle built by stone giants for his parents on a bare rock ridge that towered over the busy human port city of Haunvaerune, on the continent of Arandron far to the southwest of Faerûn.
It was his mother Malavauvra’s (Malavauvrantarandra’s) last clutch of eggs, for she was ancient and ailing. Most of Velsaertirden’s siblings were sickly and died soon after hatching, or during their first year of existence. The exceptions were his ruthless, rapacious sister Rauvrahreene (Rauvrahrileenatandrar), and his brother Torthal (Torthalindrarron).
The three wyrmlings soon became dragonets (learning to take human form, and shift with ease between human and dragon form), and reacted in very different ways to the bustling human city their dying mother encouraged them to explore: Torthal was repelled by humans and wanted nothing to do with them, or cities, or crowding of any sort; Rauvrahreene saw them as cattle, pawns, and playthings to be manipulated, devoured, and otherwise expended at will to further her needs to dominate, cow lesser beings, and further her plans; and Velsaert saw them as dangerous but fascinating sources of ongoing entertainment, to be studied and befriended and worked with to see what they’d do and achieve.
Velsaert’s father Phaudron (Phaudrantanthildrar) was a withdrawn, singleminded sort of dragon who traveled widely to explore and find rare substances to use as material components in arcane magics he was devising and endlessly experimenting with.
His passion was magics intended to prolong draconic life and vigor indefinitely, without lichdom or other necromantic means, for most dragons who survive for many years love life and want to cling to it, and seek longevity by various means.
While her father was away on one of his expeditions to gain a rare ingredient, Rauvrahreene found some of his written records of his magical experimentations.
She copied them, went to a lair of her own she’d established elsewhere, and conducted her own spellcastings and experiments, successfully learning how to reverse Phaudron’s spells. Then she returned to Steelspires, and when her father returned, weary and unsuccessful, she covertly cast his reversed spells on him, killing him.
Emboldened, she sought out her weak, slumbering mother, and slew her the same way. The castle was now hers.
However, Torthal unexpectedly returned to Steelspires to consult his father, and found his sister fortifying the place with dragonslaying traps. One of which sorely wounded him (he discovered the traps the hard way). Rauvrahreene gloated openly over the mortally wounded Torthal—and was overheard doing so by Velsaert, making his own return visit to the castle. Outraged that he’d lost his parents, Velsaert attacked, and when the battle was done, Torthal had been blasted apart and Rauvrahreene, wounded, had fled.
Lost in grief, Velsaert decided he never wants to dwell in the castle. He searched it, and used all the magic he knew to subvert and reset the traps so if Rauvrahreene returned, they’d likely harm her. Then Velsaert took human form and went down into Haunvaerune.
Where as soon as he could, he took passage on a farsailing ship, that would call at “strange and distant ports.”
In this case, that meant Sambar, in Lantan (unbeknownst to wider Faerûn, the Lantanna traded their lesser invented devices with many farflung folk, to gain goods rare or hard to find). From there, Velsaert found his way to mainland Faerûn, where he traveled for over five centuries in various human guises, seeing much of different cultures.
As he grew older, he increasingly sided with the aims and doings of the Harpers of Twilight Hall, and joined them while posing as the human ranger Vontur of Zazesspur.
During his sixty-odd years as Vontur, he came across several tantalizing mentions of a dragon who MIGHT be his sister Rauvrahreene, but could never track her down. Velsaert was also increasingly fascinated by the magic-spreading role of the Chosen of Mystra, and watched their doings—and so, in return, was watched by them.
Eventually, Vontur was cornered in a perish-or-call-on-draconic-powers situation, so Vontur “died” and the dragon that slew him and his foes flew away…and a young woman by the name of Shalant Mornwind, hailing from Athkatla, joined the Harpers. An eager volunteer daunted by nothing and avoiding no unpleasant task nor company, she rose in the regard of senior Harpers, and gained an ever-larger role as a trusted and capable adventurer, active all over western Faerûn, until, in an undercover operation in the Sembian city of Selgaunt, she discovered that the secret of the success of the wealthy local Sembian family hight House Morarshar was due to their matriarch, Lady Ambrele, being the human guise of Velsaert’s sister Rauvrahreene.
Velsaert attacked, and in the battle that followed, Morarshar Hall was torn apart, the family and their staff died bloodily, several surrounding buildings were shattered and hurled down, Rauvragrene was maimed and forced to flee to another plane of existence, and Shalant Mornwind “died.”
In truth, Velsaert was aged three centuries by spells cast by Rauvrahreene to try to kill him, and left saddened by the deaths of his Harper adventuring colleagues and the destruction of so much of what had been a luxurious street in downtown Selgaunt.
So he “retired,” becoming a sage in Baldur’s Gate under the name of Imbryn Velsaert (borrowing the name Imbryn from Imbryn Ultal, the captain of the Aelusteen, the ship that had brought him from Haunvaerune to Sambar). Velsaert dwelt above his small shop in the Temples District (a street above the Helm and Cloak inn), quietly selling information and old books related to magic, and becoming a passive observer of all the bustling human activity around him. Noticing the great extent to which various humans were being manipulated by clergies, cults, cabals, and powerful entities like illithids, beholders, and dragons, he increasingly slipped into human guises to travel and investigate the doings and aims of various dragons and dracoliches active in western Faerûn (notably Laerahkralan, a greatwyrm working with yuan-ti and human agents to covertly influence various ruling courts, from towns and villages up to countries, in the Shining South). He located their principal lairs and watched what he could of their activities, befriending the bronze dragon Nymmurh in particular. During the 1360s and 1370s DR, Velsaert gained a reputation as “the” current expert on the lives and times of the dragons of the Sword Coast. The merchant Andlar Verikho of Tharsult dubbed him the “Dragon Sage,” and this nickname stuck.
After the Dracorage, an ashamed and regretful Velsaert wanted nothing further to do with the Harpers, and foresaw that his profession as a sage specializing in dragons was going to bring endless adventurers (Harpers among them) to his door, so he “retired” again, relocating to the Upper City and later the south side of the river, and then dropping out of sight.
Just in time, it seems, for a force of mages and able-to-pass-as-human creatures he suspects was sent by sister, or someone working for her, descended on his lodgings by night to slay him—and when they couldn’t find Velsaert (who was lying on a nearby rooftop, not his own, observing comets in the night sky) settled for slaughtering many neighbours instead.
Velsaert hunted them for a month thereafter, trying to find whoever they reported to, but after he’d fought and slain several of them, they turned to hunt him again, and he decided to simply disappear into a new human guise, under a new name, elsewhere.
So the greatwyrm Velsaert survives to this day—as, presumably, does his sister Rauvrahreene.
@ilikeit_ruf
Mr. Ed I love how you just drop a new (at least new to me) continent on Toril.
Has Arandron been covered anywhere? Where’s it at?
@TheEdVerse
I don't think it's been covered in print, but has been mentioned in several Milwaukee-era GenCon Realms seminars, by me with staff designers and editors on the panel. It's well SW of Faerûn.
@Razzelmire
Would it be this place that is circled? It’s from a official Scholar View of Toril from the 3rd Edition campaign book.
<image of A Scholar's View of Abeir-Toril: https://twitter.com/Razzelmire/status/1454457990514462730/photo/1>
@TheEdVerse
No. That map's rather fanciful. Notice it doesn't specify WHICH Scholar's view? It's more accurate than some maps, yet is still closer to "Dragonnes Be Herre" than reality.
Rule of thumb: trust no map that has Anchorôme as a continent, or Osse as a big continent.
- Edited on 31/10/21 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 31 Oct 2021 01:31:44 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 30 Oct 2021 : 03:38:00
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On Thayan enclaves
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454196606362849284
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454564590910689282
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454606389477842944
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454859908378206211
Oct 30 2021
@JM13136849
I've been geeking out teaching a group about things like thay's trade enclaves across FR (UE160/161) & strategy of growth from cheap sometimes magical exports getting lots of shock they never heard such things about FR. Why was that never really spotlighted for FR?
@TheEdVerse
I don't know, as I've never been on staff. I SUSPECT it was to shift the view of Thay from slavers to capitalists, but that's just a guess. Enclaves were left to fend for themselves when Szass Tam strategy-zagged in another direction.
For what Thay (not those enclaves) looks like today, watch for a soon-forthcoming DM's Guild tome on Thay by @GHC_and_Tacos and @warfteiner and yours truly. Cuisine, fashions, daily life, a tour of the major cities, tharchions, an adventure, and...the dreaded XXCan't say! They're here!
@roguecaliber
Will your Thay be like the old Thay or new Thay
@TheEdVerse
Our Thay is the Thay of right now, Realms time. As in, 1490s DR.
As the guy who created the place, I'm not sure what "old Thay" is/was, or "new Thay" for that matter. ;}
@roguecaliber
Apologies! I sorta liked the way it was perceived previously. The evil slavers!
@TheEdVerse
Ah. Thay's led by evil, and deals in slaves. Other countries (particularly neighbours like Rashemen and Aglarond) think of it as evil and rapacious.
However, to "just plain" Thayans, it's all they've known and "just the way life is."
But adventurers=forces for change.
@RpgMatch
Is there a name for this publication yet? I’m all for more Faerun stuff published/supported by you.
@TheEdVerse
It's PROBABLY going to be entitled "THAY Land of the Red Wizards" ...unless Szass Tam gets to us first.
-Edited on 31/10/21 to add new tweets
-Editedon 1/11/21 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 01 Nov 2021 00:01:01 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2021 : 01:38:20
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On banks in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454565628187140099
Oct 31 2021
@webjr1981
Is there anything akin to a "bank" in Waterdeep.
@TheEdVerse
Here on Twitter I've provided Realmslore answers about the role of temples and guilds as banks several times. As you say, there's no need to travel to Daggerford.
And that doesn't even get into all the fun of moneylenders. You may have heard of one of the more famous ones: Mirt the Moneylender, a Lord of Waterdeep.
Laeral, the current Open Lord, lives in his Mansion right now. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2021 : 01:45:26
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On Halruaan burial practices
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454612815881383936
Oct 31 2021
@pukunui81
I am running Tomb of Annihilation. The PCs rescued some Halruaans from their crashed airship. Not all the crew made it, though, and my wife (who keeps the party journal) wants to know about Halruaan burial practices. What can you tell me about that?
@TheEdVerse
Halruaan burial practices depend on the social status and wealth of a Halruaan.
The wealthiest and most magically powerful typically have favored family members cremated magically, to convert the carbon of their ashes into gems they keep and prize in family crypts or trophy rooms, or even wear as pendants or false eyes if they happen to have lost an eye.
Slightly less wealthy: cremate, and keep the ashes in small reliquaries/coffers (NOT urns) in family crypts, though a widow or widower may keep the reliquary of a beloved spouse in their bedchamber, to talk to. (For comfort, not expecting any answers.)
Less wealthy still cremate, and scatter the ashes in a favourite place of the deceased, or if survivors don’t know a favoured place or that’s impractical, in a beautiful garden or wild place (on land, never at sea).
Still less wealthy cremate and leave disposal of the ashes to someone else, or just bury the ashes themselves.
The poorest and lowest-status Halruaans simply bury their dead, either deeply or with heavy rocks piled atop the burial site, to discourage carrion-eaters, tomb-robbers, erosion, and other forces that may disturb the burial.
The grave will never be in swampy ground or near the banks of a river or stream, where it may later be washed away.
Regardless of how the body is treated, the funeral is short and simple: as the body burns or is buried, every kin of the deceased, or colleague/fellow crew wishes the dead person, by name, “fair fortune beyond” (hoping aloud that they’ll be “received” by the god they most revered, if known and/or if any) and assures them they won’t be forgotten.
And then a flower (or failing that, a plant with petals, or failing that one with windblown spores, or failing that a cast magical illusion of such a plant) is cast to the wind in memory of the departed.
If the person was liked, mourners may later drink to their name. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2021 : 00:14:27
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On cuisine and drinks that are native to Shining South, Halruaa especially
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454878556920729601
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454888838925635589
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454889558672355332
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1454885712512397319
Nov 1 2021
@thekatastrophie
Good Morning Loremaster! Could you provide some insight as to the cuisine and drinks that are native to Shining South, Halruaa especially? Is there is a stark contrast between southern cuisine and the food and drink of the Savage Frontier and the Heartlands?
@TheEdVerse
A huge topic, but here’s a starter…
Yes, there is a contrast. More soups, stews, and heavy, warming food, plus food that travels well (sausages, round hardloaves of bread) in the North.
Shining South cuisine has more small meals, with savory and sweet tarts (dominated not by berries as in the North, but by caramel sauces and nuts), and mint and hot spices as seasonings.
Cheeses in both cuisines, but more soft and crumbly cheese in the South, used more in cooking, whereas in the North cheeses are more sturdy/portable/hard and eaten by hand or in wedges. The South has more strongly seasoned cheeses, with nuts and hot spices added, and sweet-and-sour taste combinations are found only in the South (except where traveling merchants and their trade routes have caused individual migrations of cuisine to specific eateries, inns, and taverns). Pickles in the North have tastes like our real-world modern “bread and butter” pickles or sour pickles; pickles in the South usually taste more fiery, like mustard pickles, and include chopped-olive and caper mixes like tapenades.
As for alcoholic drinks: in the North, mulled ciders and spiked-with-spirits hot broths and “slakes” (mixes of teas and root spices) and ale and firewine. In the South: chilled drinks, like the blue wine avanal and brandies poured over berries and shavings of ice, and wines in general in preference to beer, as well as kaeth (coffee) in preference to teas.
However, these cuisine contrasts are marked in rural and wilderness areas, but far less so in cosmopolitan trading cities, ports like Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, Athkatla, Zazesspur, and Calimport in particular, where visiting traders like to eat their customary foods, and arrive in profusion enough to support eateries offering their favourites.
Oh, and smoky food flavours are welcomed in the North (smoked fish, smoked meats) but in the South are often seen as a mark of poor cooking or attempts to hide bad-flavoured, spoiling food.
@thekatastrophie
Thank you so, so much! I appreciate your amazing insights and I appreciate you taking your time to craft such a detailed response!
@TheEdVerse
My pleasure! I hope to get around to more in-depth cuisine lore again (like that in my Volo's Guides). There's some in the upcoming Thay book, and friends and I are working on a Volo's Guide to a city in the Shining South that will have quite a bit of cuisine in it.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the sky-blue wine "avanal" (taste: a little like a dry Riesling made tart with cranberry juice) is THE drink of choice in Halruaa. Served chilled, in chilled fluted tallglasses, but NOT served with ice.
A popular Halruaan snack: a glass or two of avanal served with a small oval platter of nutbread crescents (crescent-shaped cookies; nutbread is like a very dark, rum-and-cherries-and-dark-chocolate Christmas cake; the nuts are pecans, walnuts, and pistachios).
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Edited by - questing gm on 01 Nov 2021 00:28:03 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2021 : 22:22:06
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On usage of "highborn" and "nobles"
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1456104227508477956
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1456111474510815232
Nov 4, 2021
@AlexMcclay2000
Hey @TheEdVerse quick question, in Ed Greenwood presents Elminsters Forgotten Realms you mention that the word for nobles in the Realms is highborn. Do people just use highborn, or do some people also say noble?
Thanks!
@TheEdVerse
“Nobles” is also in widespread usage, but as a group name. When speaking of an individual, one would say, “Oh, he’s/she’s highborn,” but when speaking of a group, one might say, “The western nobles don’t like it, but the city nobles do.”
@LarryDixonTGK
Well hell, now I wonder about the interest of Western Nobles.
@TheEdVerse
The western nobles were and are generally against the appearance of trade enclaves of Thay up and down the Sword Coast and in the western Heartlands, because it now meant any rich lowborn dolt with a grudge could buy magic to do something about that grudge. To nobles. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2021 : 22:25:05
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On Elvish words for love
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1456105625495146498
Nov 4, 2021
@logidoggy
Hey Ed! I was wondering if elves in FR had different words for love the same way the Greeks did: ...Phileo, Eros, Ludus, Agape, Pragma, and Philautia. Do they express their love verbally in different ways, or are they like English that has only one "love" word?
@TheEdVerse
The elves of the Realms express love in singing love songs to each other, in love poetry (both public and private), and in ballads of praise for an individual one adores. There are also erotic dances.
And yes, they have different words for love.
evae: love, absence of malice
nor: love, essence of passion
immeet: to yearn for home, family, hearth
immaea: loyalty to kin and family, familial love |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2021 : 22:46:55
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On definition of espionage in the Code Legal
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1456110436865171459
Nov 4, 2021
@BanzhafSimon
@TheEdVerse Hi! I'm running a 1 on 1 campaign in Waterdeep with my partner as my player. We were examining the Code Legal together and they wanted clarification on the definition of Espionage by Waterdeep's standards. I couldn't find anything online.
Could you help? Thanks!
@TheEdVerse
The problem is, like many legal matters, is that the definition is really up to the arresting officers of the Watch, and then the Black Robe (magistrate) judging the case—unless the arrested individual is noble or a guildmaster, in which case the Masked Lords will sit in judgment (or can be asked to, on appeal).
In GENERAL, “espionage” is publicly revealing, or revealing to a “foe of the city” or a rival power (for example, the realm of Amn or Calimshan, or nobles in Sembia), a secret of the city that could weaken the city. Charges in the past suggest that the Waterdhavian authorities consider the following such a sensitive city secret: naval and garrison or patrol strengths and detailed dispositions (where barracked, where on the move and where to, important changes in armament and repairs and improvements, bulk orders of arms and armor, new important orders pertaining to engagement with foes; details of future defense plans and fortifications); detailed tax takings (and billings to a guild you’re not a member of, and billings to specific nobles or civic officials, if they’re not you); specific population figures; the personal abode addresses of civic officials; future major building project plans and negotiations; Masked Lord deliberations and decisions that haven’t be proclaimed publicly. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2021 : 22:25:45
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On gold dragon ridden by Torm
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1457914762382163974
Nov 9, 2021
@RobWuth2
What is the name of the gold dragon Torm is shown riding in all his imagery? Scoured a few wikis and was unable to find something.
<https://twitter.com/RobWuth2/status/1457864509016592388/photo/1>
@TheEdVerse
That's Authrammatorluroave the Battle Flame, who despite his fearsome nickname is USUALLY whimsical and gentle, and spends much of his time in human guise (usually as shy elderly human women), though he loves to pounce on brigands, gangs of thieves, and other baddies. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2021 : 22:28:47
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On nobles and street names in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1457918061151936517
Nov 9, 2021
@Sundered_Ant
I have two small questions about the city of Waterdeep for you on my birthday:
1) Did the noble houses Anteos and Phull pay to be the namesakes of those streets next to their villas?
2) If so, why is the leftmost road named Brassfeather Lane instead of Brossfeather?
<https://twitter.com/Sundered_Ant/status/1457749084023005191/photo/1>
@TheEdVerse
No, the Palace is very firm against attempts by nobles and guilds to influence street names. The "people" decide, often overriding formal names with their preferences. In this case, they decided on Anteos and Phull (the noble families were delighted).
The Brossfeathers deliberately chose to buy and build nigh Brassfeather Lane, because of its (pre-existing) name.
It's named for a famous-in-his-day long-dead smith and metals caster, the gnome Huldeth Brossfeather, whose home and workshop once fronted on it. |
Edited by - questing gm on 09 Nov 2021 22:34:33 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 09 Nov 2021 : 22:34:04
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On Volo's ‘must try’ in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1457926368470126595
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1457955567578886146
Nov 9, 2021
@dmrob3
Hi @TheEdVerse! Starting an adventure in Waterdeep soon. What do you think Volo would say if you asked for his biggest ‘must try’ in the city? It could be food, a place to visit, or a person to speak to (other than himself).
@TheEdVerse
Volo’s latest favourite delight in Waterdeep is “The Cherry Tart,” which at 6 gp is a bargain of a dessert drink shared with ladies of questionable morals who all go by the name “Cherry” when serving you large goblets from a warm tub of the stuff they’re swimming in. They wear high-necked red gowns, and don’t really have to swim as the tub is only a foot deep. The goblets are larger than most human heads, and once filled with the warm cherry wine are topped with a float of cream.
Volo has gained three inches around his waist already. And is smitten, especially with the Cherry he believes just might be a Harper, who feeds him interesting magic-related gossip.
This beverage can be had at a new club, also named The Cherry Tart, on west-front Mendever Street, four doors south of Delzorin Street, in Sea Ward.
For a less risqué “must try,” Volo would likely recommend The Midnight Mystery (25 gp, but with a solver’s prize of 75 gp) at Tarth’s Towers on Feather Street (a luxurious inn), a night snack in a ground-floor feast hall where a dozen or more guests try to solve a mystery related by a bard and acted out by a small troup of actors.
And if asked for an interesting person to talk to, Volo would recommend the Lady Laeral or (if you can find him) Mirt.
@LeslieCourtne14
If 6gp is a bargain, how much does the average person make in wages etc in Waterdeep?
@TheEdVerse
Heh. You have to get used to Volo's way of speaking. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2021 : 02:15:40
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On Waterdavian typical greetings
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459217710957662211
Nov 13, 2021
@NerdyPunk93
@TheEdVerse do Waterdavians have a typical greeting? Like, in Manchester (UK) we tend to say “Y’alright?” As an informal greeting. So I was just wondering if Waterdeep has something similar.
@TheEdVerse
Sure!
“Well met” is the most common Waterdhavian greeting between strangers and casual acquaintances (and "Well met again!").
“Dragon high” means “I’m just here to trade” or “I want to do business, not cause trouble”
“It stands” is how neighbours and friends greet each other if they’re not upset or excited; it’s short for “Mount Waterdeep’s still standing, and the world unfolding as it should.”
and
“Bright!” is the “It’s a great day! How’s it going?” upbeat salutation. |
Edited by - questing gm on 13 Nov 2021 02:16:25 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2021 : 02:22:43
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On Elminster's "must try" in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459230918657421318
Nov 13, 2021
@WyrdhavenArts
Ok...but what would El consider a "must try"? I'd rather hear that.
@TheEdVerse
Right now in Waterdeep, El would most likely recommend someone try a tatha, visit the City of the Dead, and seek out Old Naecza to talk to.
A tatha is the latest widespread street food of the city, originating with sailors wanting to eat cheap, quickly-served food found in other ports and so supporting one of their own setting up a Dock Ward shopfront, and swiftly spreading. Similar to the “bunny chow” of real-world South Africa, a tatha consists of a hot bread load hollowed out and stuffed with a hotspice fry-mix (rather like a curry) of diced mutton, spring onion or onion or leek, roast fowl (chicken or pigeon) and cooked beans (lima or kidney or chickpeas), using eggs, a seasoning sauce or two, that’s been mashed into little pieces and then formed into a patty before being put into the loaf.
Elminster wants folk to visit the City of the Dead (by day, of course!) to experience a green, pleasant park in the middle of a crowded city that folk use to snack, stroll and chat, tryst, and honour their dead kin or forebearers in a guild or skill or endeavour. As well as overhear the sometimes-fascinating converse of others as they make deals, gossip, and take a break from their working day.
Old Naecza (pronounced “NAY-sah”) is a wizened old woman who sits on rocks on that spur of Mount Waterdeep that juts out into Castle Ward on most non-harsh-weather days, surrounded by opportunistic seabirds that she doesn’t feed, watching the bustle of the city, humming to herself, and chatting with anyone who happens by. She’s a retired household servant to nobles, Naeczavalla Hintur by name, a masterful cook and a veteran chambermaid, launderer, and seamstress who can make a bed and mend, wash, and iron all the bedlinens at top speed.
However, El doesn’t recommend her for that; he points folk to her for her wide and deep knowledge of the city—not its gossip, rumors, and politics, but shrewdly taking her measure of many, many citizens, high and low, so she knows what interests and goads them, and how they’ll most likely react. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2021 : 02:26:25
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On burial cost in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459245615054000134
Nov 13, 2021
@LamarrTD
What is the cost of burial in Waterdeep?
@TheEdVerse
It depends on the deceased.
If they're guild members, the guild usually pays. Noble families have their own crypts; cost=how much of a show they want to put on (might be nothing). Clergy = free if done by their own faith, or are paupers who worshipped or did service.
Many priests in Waterdeep offer set rates for laborers, shopkeepers, visitors, and other "working poor" that vary depending on: cremation? Marked grave? Grave with monument? Hired mourners? Or private service? Cheapest of these is USUALLY 100 gp, runs up to 1000 gp.
If a wealthy merchant dies and his family want the passing marked by the city, they might spend 4K to 6K gp for a "big show" that falls far short of a city-traffic-stopping event (which could easily cost twice that, with Watch street escort for the coffin, etc.
An increasingly popular DIY option: the family rides or hires a coach to head for Secomber, finds a pretty wayside spot, buries there DEEPLY with a sunk-in-the-ground marker (a distinctive stone or piece of broken bottle of no value but that they'll recognize).
"Deeply" because animals will dig up and devour the remains if shallow. So deep, and with some flat stones atop, then something strong-smelling (from pepper to cheap scent), then replace the earth), then some scattered stones and the burial marker on the surface.
@LamarrTD
Who does the general commoner/common family on the street think of when they want a burial? Kelemvor?
Or does each individual/family think of their own god for passing on?
Does Waterdeep have general Clerics who tend matters unless a specific one is requested?
@TheEdVerse
Most folk/families think of "the foremost god venerated" by the deceased to pick a faith for handling funerals and/or burials; Kelemvor is the fallback "for all" if there isn't one (Chauntea for farmers outside the city). All clergy can and usually will serve in this.
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 13 Nov 2021 : 02:33:47
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On portals "everywhere" in Forgotten Realms
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459276579532591106
Nov 9, 2021
@jackoftales
All because, canonically, the Forgotten Realms has portals to *everywhere*. That gets forgotten in 5e.
Did I get that right, @TheEdVerse?
@TheEdVerse
You did.
Some of those portals open here. Perhaps in your back garden, or in the nearest park.
And they may be largely "forgotten," but some beings still know how to step through them. Some blunder through.
Which is why it's always a good idea to look behind you... |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2021 : 01:34:18
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On open air burials in the Realms
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459598238164701191
Nov 14, 2021
@EoghanMacmillan
This gets me wondering, do any cultures/faiths in the Realms practice open air burial, either as a matter of course or under special circumstances? Not including cases of "no other option" necessity there, of course, because that's probably universal.
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Open-air: the Sossrim+other cold-climate folks "give their dead to the glaciers," desert-dwellers "give their dead to the sands," many sylvan races do (sacred-area) forest-floor burials, and some southern island-dwellers put their dead to sea in small open boats. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11695 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2021 : 13:08:06
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quote:
Originally posted by questing gm
On Volo's ‘must try’ in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1457926368470126595
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1457955567578886146
Nov 9, 2021
@dmrob3
Hi @TheEdVerse! Starting an adventure in Waterdeep soon. What do you think Volo would say if you asked for his biggest ‘must try’ in the city? It could be food, a place to visit, or a person to speak to (other than himself).
@TheEdVerse
Volo’s latest favourite delight in Waterdeep is “The Cherry Tart,” which at 6 gp is a bargain of a dessert drink shared with ladies of questionable morals who all go by the name “Cherry” when serving you large goblets from a warm tub of the stuff they’re swimming in. They wear high-necked red gowns, and don’t really have to swim as the tub is only a foot deep. The goblets are larger than most human heads, and once filled with the warm cherry wine are topped with a float of cream.
Volo has gained three inches around his waist already. And is smitten, especially with the Cherry he believes just might be a Harper, who feeds him interesting magic-related gossip.
This beverage can be had at a new club, also named The Cherry Tart, on west-front Mendever Street, four doors south of Delzorin Street, in Sea Ward.
For a less risqué “must try,” Volo would likely recommend The Midnight Mystery (25 gp, but with a solver’s prize of 75 gp) at Tarth’s Towers on Feather Street (a luxurious inn), a night snack in a ground-floor feast hall where a dozen or more guests try to solve a mystery related by a bard and acted out by a small troup of actors.
And if asked for an interesting person to talk to, Volo would recommend the Lady Laeral or (if you can find him) Mirt.
@LeslieCourtne14
If 6gp is a bargain, how much does the average person make in wages etc in Waterdeep?
@TheEdVerse
Heh. You have to get used to Volo's way of speaking.
I think I've met Cherry a few times. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2021 : 15:00:51
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quote:
Originally posted by questing gm
On open air burials in the Realms
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459598238164701191
Nov 14, 2021
@EoghanMacmillan
This gets me wondering, do any cultures/faiths in the Realms practice open air burial, either as a matter of course or under special circumstances? Not including cases of "no other option" necessity there, of course, because that's probably universal.
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Open-air: the Sossrim+other cold-climate folks "give their dead to the glaciers," desert-dwellers "give their dead to the sands," many sylvan races do (sacred-area) forest-floor burials, and some southern island-dwellers put their dead to sea in small open boats.
Selunites also practice open-air or "skyburials". Page 35 of So Sayeth Ed, part 8 has this:
"Selune: no crypts or embalming. Naked skyburial (on high platform, to be picked clean and scattered by scavengers and storms) if far from sea, otherwise laid naked on a raft and set out to sea (released when well out from shore; land should be "just visible" on the horizon) in moonlit conditions, to "voyage at the Lady's bidding"."
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"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2021 : 23:42:30
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On living in the North Pole of Toril
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459954398227058695
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1460497726672715781
Nov 15, 2021
@FnordKyuss
Hello Ed, quick question: Does anyone live at the North Pole on Toril? A fat elf perhaps?
@TheEdVerse
Heh. Yes, there's an entire continent up there I haven't had the chance to share with anyone yet. No fat elves that I recall. Other beings. ;}
@foggio
Is it a polar environment or some strange magical land? Thank you
@TheEdVerse
It's polar, all right...but with hot active volcanism beneath.
- Edited on 17/11/21 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 16 Nov 2021 23:43:36 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 14 Nov 2021 : 23:51:03
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On determining diamond values for spell components
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459955182658330632
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1460115392337264641
Nov 15, 2021
@CMSLOPOrion
How are diamond values determined for spell component use, lore-wise, in the many realms of D&D?
@TheEdVerse
I can only answer for my work in the Realms, much of which made it into Volo's Guide To All Things Magical. Gary Gygax based the values in the original gem tables on real-world prices/rarity/popularity (roughly). In my research, I talked to real-world gem miners, cutters, and sellers re. shifts in supply, demand, and popularity (e.g. mourning jewelry, synthetic diamonds and such things as Swarovski "crystals" [treated glass]), as well as how easily mined and durability in a medieval-tech setting, to expand the tables without modifying Gary's original value settings. And to incorporate my own inventions (such as king's tears) to put some magic into the mundane.
So real-world historical values play a large part. Rarity, demand, size of stone, hue, clarity and lack of flaws.
When it comes to spell component/spell ink formulae ingredient use, one always tries to tie a natural characteristic of the gem, or an existing real-world folklore belief about it, to the specific magic. Never "pick a random gem type for its cost."
@CMSLOPOrion
Is there some sort of council who oversees these? Like, in the US we have a government entity who goes around and checks food to see if the weights match up with the listed value or that the scales are balanced correctly (in order to make sure customers are fairly charged).
@TheEdVerse
In the Realms? No. Government bodies need a strong central government+societal agreement on standards/measures.
In Faerûn, this is usually done by guilds (backed by gov't edicts), but enforced by merchants (i.e. if X cheats often, merchants will stop dealing with X).
- edited on 16/11/21 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 16 Nov 2021 00:18:08 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2021 : 00:12:25
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On three unlabeled stretches of road in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1459985314810896387
Nov 15, 2021
@Sundered_Ant
Hey @TheEdVerse, another Waterdeep question for you. I was looking over a couple of the different official maps the city has had over the years and I was wondering - do these three unlabeled stretches of road have names by any chance?
<https://twitter.com/Sundered_Ant/status/1459973507635417091/photo/1>
@TheEdVerse
They do. ;} The purple route is the southern end of The Cliffwatch (don’t be misled by the ground furrows, and the open ground along the clifftop that isn’t a street: The Cliffwatch runs south from where its name-label appears on the map, and Saerdoun Street and Zendulth [formerly “Zenduth,” before the name got corrupted, over time] both branch off of it). This southern end is also known as “Watchway.”
The red route is Malkur’s Ride.
The green route that connects The Beaconmarch with Malkur’s Ride is Selvur Alley, the cul-de-sac jutting north off it is Handaramatur’s Court, and the serpentine alley that crosses Selvur Alley (all of the rest you’ve highlighted in green) is Dathantar’s Crawl.
Malkur was an irascible and villainous independent adventurer-mage of the early 1300s DR who refused to join the Watchful Order; this was the street he memorably used to gallop along on a phantom mount he’d conjured up, while experimenting with a new spell he was devising (it worked fine, as an ever-increasing-velocity rushing movement he couldn’t slow or turn abruptly, and he very quickly tired of being slammed with bone-shattering force against buildings on the west front of Zendluth Street).
Selvur was a doppelganger posing as a Calishite merchant in the late 1200s DR, who bought several buildings in the city block the alley named for him now bisects; he created the alleyway by tearing down decaying buildings he’d bought and building smaller-footprint, taller ones that left room for a cut-through; the Palace was pleased and cut him a tax break, unaware that they were assisting in housing a growing community of doppelgangers.
Handaramatur was a sage in the early 1300s DR whose expertise was genealogies of common Waterdhavians to date, the trade agreements and therefore ties between them, the businesses they founded, and their guild memberships; he dwelt in the building at the north end of the court that doesn’t front on Malkur’s Ride, but adjoins one that does. He died of a “contagious fever” in the harsh winter of 1331 DR, and the “shady secrets” he’d written down in his researches were never found (either someone pounced on them right away, or they’re still hidden somewhere in the aging three-storey house, which has had more than a dozen owners since).
Dathantar was a famous-in-his-day nightsoil wagon operator of the early 1200s DR, who lived somewhere along the alleyway now named for him, and used to stop his aromatic, laden wagon to snatch a bite to eat at home with his wife, so the wagon was said to “crawl” along this stretch by neighbours because its stench lingered. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2021 : 23:29:18
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On Elminster put in stasis to not save Myth Drannor
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1460117045169823744
Nov 15, 2021
@frank_oni_oni
Greetings Sir, years back you said I correctly assumed it was Mystra who had Elminster placed in a stasis situation so he wouldn't spend himself trying to save Myth Drannor. Did El ever learn that truth? Was he the only Chosen she did that to?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, he learned that, and no, he wasn’t the only one. Who else was? NDA. |
Edited by - questing gm on 15 Nov 2021 23:31:52 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2021 : 23:41:19
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On specific things in the Lake of Steam
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1460123788578889735
Nov 15, 2021
@ScottishNinjaaa
Hey @TheEdVerse! Hope you're doing well! Are there any specific things in the Lake of Steam that you love in particular? I am not sure why I am always brought back to this region, but I love it! Curious what your little nuggets are on this region.
@TheEdVerse
In the lands along the north shore of the Lake of Steam, many gases erupt from fissures in the earth, and/or bubble up through pools and even into streams (which sometimes emit “smoke” [hot mists] as a result.
Some of these “fumes and vapours” are toxic, some just smell bad or taint the earth or bring on hallucinations, and some are useful medically or in hide-curing and other processes if captured in vials.
The active vulcanism gives off heat, and many places have warm or hot water welling up naturally, to flow or sit steaming in ponds.
The Lake of Steam area can be dangerous to mine in, due to arsenic exposure and noxious or even explosive gases given off when caverns/subterranean air spaces are breached, but can yield very pure veins of metals such as copper and silver, and a wide variety of gemstones in natural crystalline form, plus “rock crystal” in huge masses.
The heat of the Lake of Steam area attracts fire lizards and some dragons to dwell in any of the natural caverns—and thanks to past localized vulcanism and the phreatic tubes that are abundant in the area, these caverns are many, and often occur in chains/strings.
The Lake of Steam is an area lightly settled by humans due to the lack of good agricultural land to grow enough food and heavy forests to support game. So it has become an area for outcasts and brigands to temporarily hide in, and many folk “on the run” to hide treasure in, that they hope to return to later, and reclaim. Many never do come back. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2021 : 23:53:42
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On Xvim in 15th century DR
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1460127849797636105
Nov 15, 2021
@Artie_Pavlov
A quick question @TheEdVerse if “all gods are back” what does it mean for Xvim? He did get ripped apart by his father being reborn. Is he still a dead power as of the 15th century dr?
@TheEdVerse
Most folk in the Realms think he’s still dead and gone, but his clergy and most devout lay followers, and the Chosen of Mystra, know differently; they perceive him from time to time as a ghostly whisperer in their dreams/nightmares. He doesn’t seem to have any stronger physical presence. Yet.
Nor does he, as a ghostly presence, seem all that sane or firm of purpose. He mostly seems to crave worship, hungrily and desperately. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
Posted - 18 Nov 2021 : 00:02:19
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Not a question. Ed was plugging a podcast in his Twitter where he roleplays as Mirt and answers a few questions, some related with Waterdeep. Since it had the #realmslore tag, I figured it might be interesting to know/note.
On Mirt
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1460776924263895040
Nov 17, 2021
@rodinflagon
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1559451029
Podchaser: https://podchaser.com/podcasts/rod-in-flagon-1664112/episodes
Joining us this week is Mirt the Moneylender, played by the creator of The Forgotten Realms, and D&D legend Ed Greenwood! (@TheEdVerse)
As you might imagine, Mirt has quite a few thoughts and tips for adventurers:
- The importance of a consistent policy in adventuring
- How Laeral keeps her wand at the ready
- How Mirt and Durnan tackled the Undermountain
- The secret to long life
- Preferred method for dealing with tax collectors
- Why tradesman don't all have Rings of Featherfall
- The real scourge of The Forgotten Realms: nepotism
- The statute of limitations on bounties
- How to handle Waterdeep nobility
- What keeps Mirt up at night
@TheEdVerse
In which I got to sit down and speak as my original Realms "main character," Mirt the Moneylender, after all these years! Gruff good advice broke out a time or two, amid all the cantankerous quaffing! GREAT FUN! Get yer essential Realmslore here!
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Edited by - questing gm on 18 Nov 2021 00:08:46 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1154 Posts |
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Ed Greenwood on Twitter
