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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 01:27:42
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Hello, all. FoolishOwl, you’re quite welcome, and I believe Ed has a reply almost ready for your literary question (his reply to Rinonalyrna Fathomlin will, however, arrive first, right after what follows).
And speaking of what follows, I herewith present Ed’s latest reply, this time to Ty:
Hello, Ty. Impiltur is very sparsely detailed, but I quite agree that it’s a “place for many rich high fantasy tales.” It’s ‘the OTHER strong royal kingdom’ of the Realms (being compared to Cormyr, of course), and just kept “falling off the table” over the years, when Realms products were being proposed. Jeff Grubb used to refer to this annual TSR process as the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, because it was around this time when all of the projects that had been “greenlighted” in a preliminary sense got “lined up against a wall and shot” until things were pruned down to what press time, editors, artists, and other resources were available. I recall that Evermeet “fell off the table” five years in a row in this way, and Impiltur never made it through the process.
As a result, we’ve never seen anything much of Impiltur in print, as you know, and I stand behind my lovely Lady Hooded (a nice place to stand, actually, he remarked innocently) in the assertion that George Krashos is THE lore expert.
So culturally, it’s different than Cormyr but at about the same level. Take Cormyr, subtract the War Wizards and the Purple Dragons (putting in a far smaller and less competent army, but more hiring of adventurers as monster-patrols and town and VIP bodyguards), and make the nobles less numerous, far less fractious towards the throne, and more interested in ruling their demesnes well. The climate is slightly harsher and the farms smaller, with more rocks and frowning evergreens (hey! Your Black Forest! The Black Forest of the early twentieth century, though, before acid rain and human encroachment thinned it out and got rid of the bears and wolves), but otherwise things (amount of wealth, social sophistication, mercantile activity levels) are about the same.
Impiltur is another of the areas I’d love to detail, in depth, but we’ll just have to see . . .
Now, as for your more recent query about the recipes: I’m a “camp cook” (I can do about a dozen rib-sticking dishes passably well, cooking outdoors over a fire, but show me a kitchen with appliances that have knobs, or even a gas grill for outdoor use, and I’m lost), but my wife is a good cook, my brother is a professional chef, and I was raised by superb farm cooks. (My kitchen expertise is . . . doing dishes.)
Parts of each of those recipes are drawn from medieval sources, tempered with some modern chef-craft, and making some assumptions as to the taste of monster meats and suchlike (dragon flesh ISN’T a direct substitute for beef, for instance). So the best judgement of those recipes is that they’re a basis for a good cook to start from, changing the seasoning to suit personal tastes (because the seasoning is tailored to match the purely imaginary taste of the flesh of this or that monster). You might want to make a recipe just for yourself, taste the result, and modify accordingly; you may have to alter the seasoning quite a bit.
They’re not balanced meals, of course, because all the vegetable dishes (being deemed less exciting, I suppose) got chopped in the editing. However, I and many of my players (the Knights, including the lovely Lady Hooded) have made and eaten all of the recipes (substituting pork, beef, moose, kangaroo, chicken, turkey, and duck where appropriate, and various real-world wines and spirits for those of the Realms ), and we’re all still alive to tell the tale.
So saith Ed. Re. Impiltur: Sigh. So many unfinished Realms tasks, so little time. Re. the recipes: I’m afraid I can’t get to my cooking notes until spring (they’re snowbound up at a cottage in the Ontario wilderness), wherein I noted the alterations I found necessary to make the recipes ‘just so’ for my palate, but Ed’s right: you can use them to make some rough, robust dishes. My advice would be to grab some good cookbooks from a library on soups or roasts (as appropriate for what you want to try), eyeball some of the recipes therein so as to compare them to Ed’s published recipes, take a good hard look at his seasonings and decide what changes you think you want to make right off the bat, and then set to work - - and do as all good cooks do: taste and smell as you go along, and follow your instincts (and preferences) over what’s written. Have no health fears, however (unless you happen to use tainted ingredients, or undercook drastically): Ed didn’t want to include any of the recipes until he tried out a real-world equivalent on someone (ahem, us) first. And yes, we ARE all still alive. More or less, as they say.
love to all,
THO
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 01:28:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Verghityax
P.S. The Baldur's Gate map is almost done, so I shall post it here somewhere shortly. In meanwhile I want to present You with my article about Akadi. It's in polish language but You can at least have a look at the artwork  I hope You like it.
Lovely artwork, I just wish I could read the text. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 01:33:50
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Have you tried copying the URL and doing a translation at:
www.babelfish.altavista.com
?
Ed showed me this "librarian's dodge" once. You have to select the right language translation combo too, of course.
love,
THO |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 01:49:11
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Have you tried copying the URL and doing a translation at:
www.babelfish.altavista.com
?
Ed showed me this "librarian's dodge" once. You have to select the right language translation combo too, of course.
love,
THO
No, I didn't think of that--thanks for the tip, Hooded One. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 01:59:20
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Hiya Ed and THO,
As you know, or maybe you didn't, I've been making a database with basics about the NPC's from the 1e and 2e lore. There's a few NPC's I've been wanting to ask about to, hopefully, get more info on but I've been waiting and making a list and I was going to make a long reply about it. :) I recall a certain Wave Witch that really caught my interest but that list will wait until I get more of the sourcebook added.
Anyhow this one NPC caught my interest because of her name and so I decided to ask about her since it's one of the few NPC's in the back of Volo's Guide to Waterdeep that doesn't contain any realmslore, just a stat line.
So what can you tell us about Dessra of the Dark Desires? :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
Edited by - Kuje on 20 Feb 2005 02:01:46 |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 02:01:05
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Okay, this has my interest!
Being a 'famous' (ahem) fantasy cook myself  I'd be VERY interested in a list of imaginary beasts used in Realmsian cooking. Can I get a little help here?
Thanks! |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6645 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 10:19:55
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And another query to add to the ever-growing pile (better get an otyugh, Ed!).
I'd be interested to know if we have any names/titles for the various races in respect of rulers of places/kingdoms etc.
For the elves we have 'coronal' (and as you've told me before Ed, "lesser" rulers are 'laranlors' and 'laranlas') and we have a few human titles like 'qysar' and 'nentyarch'.
I'd be interested to know if the dwarves, gnomes, halflings, orcs et. al have any such titles and I'd also like to hear of any other ones for the human races - I think they just add flavor in comparison to using 'king', 'emperor', 'lord' and so on.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 20 Feb 2005 : 21:45:46
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Another question for Ed
What occured in 267 DR and why was it named the Year of Banes Shadow? (Im assuming it refers to the God Bane)
Thanks in advance |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2005 : 00:56:53
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Hello, all. Ed of the Greenwood makes reply to Rinonalyrna Fathomlin:
Well met! Thank you for the nice words about my Realms novels. I LOVE writing them, and I hope it ‘shows.’ Now if only they’d pay me millions so I could hire someone to take care of all my daily needs and obligations, and just write books, eat (meals being brought to me, of course) and sleep. That WOULD be the life. Lady Hooded, arrange it, will you?
Enough wishful thinking; you’ve presented me with a lovely question. Thank you.
Yes, Azoun is a lusty sort, and literally thousands of Cormyrean women enjoyed his royal favours at one time or another. Although Filfaeril officially ignored this, she knows about a good many of his sportings, and guessed correctly about many of the rest.
As you’ve probably guessed, she knew what Azoun was like when she married him - - she was, after all, one of those only-too-delighted women at one time, and Azoun’s appetites, habits, and prowess were certainly no secret in the realm (among some young noblewomen, there were even games and wagers played about who would bed Azoun first, or when, or how - - and in at least two instances I know of, a noble mother and daughter compared notes about Azoun after the daughter proudly confessed to doing what her mother had done decades earlier).
Some husbands or fathers were probably angry or uncomfortable, but most of them were as proud of their kind, fairly discreet while actually ‘doing it,’ handsome, friendly king as his Purple Dragons and crofters were: they saw the king’s virility as something to laugh over and take pride in, a mark that ‘the land is strong.’ They called Azoun “Our Stag,” “THE Purple Dragon,” “The Royal Dragon,” and so on. Being cuckolded by the king didn’t ‘count’ as a stain, where being cuckolded by any other man would.
Filfaeril was always a proud and rather publicly remote woman, and got dubbed ‘the Ice Queen’ for her iron self-control and wicked-sharp tongue (when mocked by female nobles, she gave better than she got). Yet your impression was correct: she truly DIDN’T mind.
Part of this was due to her upbringing (knowing Azoun for what he was before wedding him; he’s just the most randy of a long line of lusty Obarskyrs; their ‘rutting reputation’ was part of the lore of the realm long before Azoun IV was born), part of it was due to her own character (she loves intimacy and the physical pleasure of lovemaking, and is a generous person who loves sharing, and saw no reason [given Vangerdahast’s careful and oft-applied disease-prevention and -quelling spells] not to share Azoun; she even, as with Tessaril, felt it gave her a much stronger personal bond with some of the women he bedded repeatedly - - and most of them admired her for this view, instead of sneering at her or thinking her a weakling or a fool or some sort of coldhearted bitch Azoun had to escape from or couldn’t get the love he wanted from).
Yes, she felt lonely, especially when Azoun was away for long periods of time (though she remained faithful). She felt VERY lonely after he died, of course, and allowed (the sage) Alaphondar’s many-years-hopeless-love to succeed in comforting her. They had NOT been lovers before that time, although he often served as her ‘father confessor’ when she felt very lonely, or horny, or jealous, and he daily sat in private with her and just talked (the Lady Hooded will recall vividly, I’m sure, an occasion in which certain of the Knights had stolen into the royal apartments, were sneaking around, and overheard Alaphondar murmuring the equivalent of phone sex to Filfaeril, who sat near him fully clothed and increasingly aroused. He brought her to orgasm with words alone, never touching her, and then served her a cordial! Torm of the Knights imitated him mockingly for MONTHS).
Yes, Filfaeril loved Azoun deeply, and he loved her. They were BEST FRIENDS first and foremost, and she was his favourite lover, and the one he “always came home to,” and she knew it and revelled in it. Yes, Azoun appreciated what he had, and yes, she was a VERY strong person, the strongest person in Cormyr after Vangerdahast.
Filfaeril’s strength of character, shrewd judge of the character of others, and swift wits made her a capable ruler, if she’d ever needed to be (right now, backing up Alusair, she DOES need to be). Her beauty and self-control made many men of Cormyr wild to have her, and she kissed many a man’s hand, stared deep into his eyes, and whispered, “My love for my Azoun, and my king, and Cormyr makes it absolutely and forever impossible that we should ever more than look at each other - - but if we could have more, know that I would welcome it, and enjoy it.” Sometimes this was coldly-calculating acting, to win the loyalty or friendly regard of an important noble, but sometimes it was a gentle favour to a smitten stablehand or page, and Filfaeril meant those words more often than she didn’t. She loved to look at men, but believed it was only Azoun’s right to touch. (And often, afire from the latest smouldering glances sent her way, she’d go back to Azoun, tow him off to the nearest bedchamber, and ride him fiercely.)
I wish I’d had the chance to really tell Filfaeril’s story in my Realms fiction, but such a large part of it has been romantic that the result would either be a “heaving-bosoms” Harlequin-style romance, or a torridly X-rated bedchamber-to-court-revel intrigue, and as neither of those fit what TSR or WotC publish or want to publish, I’ve never seen a proper opportunity. I still DO hope to show you a little more (of Filfaeril’s character, not her flesh) in future novels and short stories.
Let me just say this much about Filfaeril: Alusair Nacacia is considered ‘wanton’ by many, and most of them view her as “a female version of her father,” but the truth is she got the lusty side of both Azoun and Filfaeril, put together. (And you should see more of her in my fiction, soon.)
On other fronts: Filfaeril is one of the smartest queens Cormyr has ever had, and was much smarter and more perceptive than Azoun (and he knew that, and was proud of it rather than resenting it).
And if all of this sounds more than a little like I’m in love with Filfaeril myself, Rinonalyrna, the answer to that is: Yup. And proud to be.
Whew. A little WARM in here, isn’t it? I’ll just lounge back in my chair and remember Torm doing his Alaphondar imitation (snort; STILL hilarious, all these years later). Rinonalyrna Fathomlin, thank you for asking this. ’Twas a pleasure to cut-n-paste this Ed answer!
love to all,
THO
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2005 : 01:46:34
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WELL! Um, wow, uh....
Ed - Congratulations! You've made a pixie blush! |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2005 : 03:28:18
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello, all. Ed of the Greenwood makes reply to Rinonalyrna Fathomlin:
Well met! Thank you for the nice words about my Realms novels. I LOVE writing them, and I hope it ‘shows.’
It most certainly does show.
quote:
Whew. A little WARM in here, isn’t it? I’ll just lounge back in my chair and remember Torm doing his Alaphondar imitation (snort; STILL hilarious, all these years later). Rinonalyrna Fathomlin, thank you for asking this. ’Twas a pleasure to cut-n-paste this Ed answer!
love to all,
THO
You're welcome--and it was a pleasure to read Ed's answer. Please let Ed know that I enjoyed his wonderful, detailed reply regarding Filfaeril...and I certainly would love to see more of her personality come to the surface in future Realms fiction.
Regards,
Rinonalyrna |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 21 Feb 2005 03:30:08 |
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EvilKnight
Learned Scribe
USA
162 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2005 : 16:17:32
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Hello Ed and Hooded One,
I would like to hear about the Korinn Archipelago. The best lore is from N1 Treasure Hunt module and FR2 Moonshae of old (and they don’t line up on some points). I come away with the indigenous goblinoids and orcs being much smarter than the average main land cousin (being seafaring pirates and all). I would like to hear your take on how their culture and outlook differs from the main land cousins and how they came to be there and thrive. I would also like to hear of the rare spices from the islands and the people that live there and how they interact and think of the peoples and merchants of the main land (and some interesting loose threads and rumors of course  ).
EvilKnight
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2005 : 16:45:06
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Ed, or THO,
This poster, over on the WOTC boards, is trying to get some help with his topic. Could maybe Ed rush this? It's not for me and I'm just being the go between. I think Ed might get a chuckle out of this also.
Alurvelve posted on the WOTC boards: "Our three elves who happen to be extremely talented/lucky in everything that they do have just recently had contact with the Lady Srinshee. She came to us in some kind of ghostly form telling us to continue where the people stoped. There is some other info, but it ends with her telling us where go to find the Warblade. She wants us to retrieve it and gather an army for the coming darkness. Now we are to search for the Warblade and gather an army. Naturally Alurvelve fell in love with her and is trying to win her affection. The only problem is how do you seduce someone you've heard legends about your whole life. I can't really walk up to her like the average bar maid look her up and down and say "how you doin" and expect her to fall in my arms like all the others If you look at the skills I can be pretty charming (Bluff +10, Craft calligraphy +12, Diplomacy +16, Knowledge nobility royalty +14, Peform Sing +10, Dance +10, Poetry +10, Sense Motive +10) but I do not want just the rolls to win me the Srinshee. I do not know how to get a hold of her, I've never seen her in person, the only thing I can think of is to first get the Warblade so I can see her again hopefully and try to woo her with some well placed compliments. But what to do to stand out from the rest of the people who have tried throughout her 2,000 some odd years of exsistance? The thing is when it was bar maids, or elf maidens, it was just for fun, no strings. But now he has this feeling and it won't go away. Whats going to suck is that I'm going to bite off more than I can chew trying to impress her. Ahhh somebody help."
So if Ed could give his thoughts on how a PC could woo the Srinshee for this poor player who is struggling, I think he'd appreciate it. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2005 : 23:47:21
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quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
So if Ed could give his thoughts on how a PC could woo the Srinshee for this poor player who is struggling, I think he'd appreciate it.
I'll give that player points for undertaking that particular quest. |
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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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 00:12:29
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| Wow, talk about a Holy Grail quest! More power to him! I would REALLY love to hear how it turns out. |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 02:44:00
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Hello, all. Ed makes reply to Foolish Owl about the literary side of Cormyr (reserving the philosophy question for later). Jerryd, there’s a note in here that will probably be of interest to you, too. ATTENTION ALL SCRIBES: what follows is essential Cormyr-related Realmslore. Clip and save!
Accordingly, I give you all the words of Ed:
Foolish Owl, your impression is correct. The last two kings of Cormyr, Azoun IV operating under the persistent urgings of both Alaphondar and Vangerdahast (whose reasons include these: more literate native-born Cormyreans means a larger pool of folk from which courtiers and spies can be drawn; persons with a natural aptitude for the Art can more easily advance because they already know how to read and write spells; a more literate general populace cuts down on casual dishonesty in matters of daily trade and sales, making for better local relations and contentment; and a more literate general populace means more possibilities of a farmer or wandering youth at play being able to recognize something important or suspicious or dangerous if they happen across writings - - whereas in the past some Sembians have been able to say one thing across an upcountry Cormyrean tavern table to each other, and write something far different, knowing no one else there can read their ‘true’ conversation), have made certain all Purple Dragons are trained to read and write, AND get practise in it (by often filing brief written reports), and encouraged all nobility to train their ENTIRE housholds to read and write, too. The Crown has also, for years, made monetary donations to local tutors and priests of Deneir and Oghma (temples, shrines, and traveling individuals) for freely teaching anyone who asks how to read and write.
Some of the enticements to read are ‘racy’ chapbooks (coverless booklets of only a few pages in length, about as wide and tall as a large man’s hand) sold by peddlers and caravan-merchants, that purport to tell the latest lurid gossip about social and Court life in Suzail, or are ‘riders:’ collections of installments of three sorts of serialized stories: one of a series of simple adventure tales for the kiddies, one of the exploits of larger-than-life adventurers (the equivalent of Paul Bunyan ‘tall tales’), and one frankly pornographic (words only, not pictures) ongoing seduction saga of a devastatingly handsome and morally depraved fictional noble, wenching his way across the realm.
That’s “literature” to many crofters (farmers) across Cormyr.
However, in the three cities of the realm, and among particular families and individuals scattered all across the Forest Kingdom, ‘serious’ literature also exists (though none of them would ever call it that, because Cormyr entirely lacks the literary snobbery of our modern real-world, except among sages sniping at each other’s published works as reflecting biases or being lazy scholarship).
In a given year, probably five hundred or so books get published (mainly in Cormyr, although there are also binderies in Arabel), and of these, about 150 or so are scholarly “sagecraft” (commonly known as ‘furrowbrow’ writings). The average circulation of one of these would be about six hundred copies, of which a hundred or so would be exported to waiting buyers in Waterdeep, Sembia, and elsewhere outside the borders of the Forest Kingdom.
The rest of the annual ‘haul’ of Cormyrean publications (I’m not including here, of course, daily productions of signs, handbills, and product instruction notes or lone recipes handed out in shops) consists of about 350 more popular works. These are all bound volumes (usually parchment leaves sewn into calfskin bindings), tend to be small and easily held (though sometimes very thick), and can address almost any topic.
No Court permission is required to publish anything, with three exceptions: anything of or about magic, anything of or about a living member of the royal family, and anything specific about current (not historical) Cormyrean military dispositions. (Remember that there’s no such thing as copyright or libel, though courtiers can order untruths to be publicly recanted, and nobles can and will duel over words they dislike, or arrange to have a non-noble whose words they disapprove of beat up or lose a wagon or hut to a mysterious fire, reprisals often guarded against by the use of pseudonyms.)
Print runs and sales of these volumes vary widely, depending on their popularity, which (in rough terms) is as follows, from most popular to least:
1. Riders: see above: average 18,000 copies
2. Readers: collections of eight or so writings, one of which is usually current gossip, another one or two being polemics (colourful rants are preferred), and the rest being an array of fiction (see my first mention of riders, above, for some genres; others are endless war adventures of this or that simple lad [or lass, disguised as a man] rising from the barnyard to commanding armies, in a fanciful kingdom loosely based on Cormyr, or in Cormyr itself, and light comedies of manners in the high life of Suzail, that often include satirical references to real folk and real events of the day): average 14,500 copies
3. Recipe collections. Always avidly devoured in kitchens across the realm, from farm huts to noble palaces, and in nigh every inn, too (in lean winter days, farm families often gather together at the abode of whoever has the warmest kitchen and the largest cauldron, and make a communal stew, reading aloud descriptions from recipe books as a sort of “food porn”). New spice and herb mixtures are always ‘hot’ topics: average 8,000 copies
4. Tyankurs: how-to books about farming (especially breeding and ‘new seeds from afar’) and craftwork. Sometimes bought up by guilds so they can be destroyed en masse, to protect secrets. As a result, helpful hints for dyes and repairs and daily little tasks are rising in popularity, and in-depth ‘how-to’ tomes are declining: average 3,500 copies
5. Wider Realms books: gossipy travel exploits, plus tall tales and recent news from distant parts of the Realms: average 1,700 copies
6. Histories, including memoirs and legends of old Cormyr (old soldiers’ campaign accounts are the most popular works here, especially if full of juicy details about daily screwups, officers wenching or making mistakes, grisly battle occurrences, and so on): average 1,200 copies
7. Everything else (e.g. collections of only love poetry; collections of wise sayings; annual reviews of breeding stables and ‘hot’ horses for racing and stud; annual overviews of trade shortages, opportunities, and predicted fads and fashions in Suzail, the Dales, and around the Moonsea; stand-alone polemics): average 1,000 copies
What I’ve just given here are publishers’ sales figures, not including resales (most copies are loaned around and read by many, and then resold to a peddler to be taken elsewhere, for the process to be repeated).
Please note that none of these circulation figures include temple copies (except for Candlekeep itself, which treasures ‘originals’). By which I mean this: a temple of Deneir or Oghma will purchase a single copy of a literary work, examine it, and if it (or extracts from it) are viewed as worthy of wider circulation, will hand-recopy it (with not a copper coin nor word to the original author) any number of times, for circulation among the temples of the same faith throughout the Realms. Traffic in the form of letters, such books, priestly decrees, and sermon texts is constant among temples, usually carried by trusted priests in sewn-shut, waterproofed parcels.
From this post, you can readily see that Cormyr, and especially Suzail, has a thriving, growing literary culture. I’m not sure if it can yet be called ‘great,’ but the base of readership is there for ‘bestsellers’ (books ‘everybody in the kingdom’ is reading, or wants to read) to occur, and noble houses are beginning to patronize writers for more than merely turning out self-congratulatory family histories and courtship poems, sponsoring these “dream-scribblers” to produce fiction for all to enjoy (the noble house stamps its heraldic badge onto the bindings and takes credit for making the entertainment possible, in hopes of winning friendly regard realm-wide). Nobles and just plain shopworkers and tradesmen, as well as the traditional sages, are starting to assemble personal libraries (a few shelves at most of favourite books, usually), and all of this is the right climate for works of greatness to begin to occur fairly often.
If Azoun V survives to rule in his own right, I’d say by then Cormyr will be widely literate and will have strong, broad, firmly-established literary traditions. You’ll start to see writers openly and regularly criticizing governance, and writers writing sequels ‘to order’ as well as long-running serialized family sagas. Filfaeril might well write a ‘tell-all’ book, and (hoo-boy!) Alusair might try to top it. (Or ‘bottom’ it. Or . . . ahem.)
So saith Ed. Lovely, lovely, lovely Realmslore. A pleasure to post, and: Heed all!
As for the Srinshee post kuje passed on: hooboy! I'll fling it Ed's way post-haste!
love to all,
THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 03:30:40
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
ATTENTION ALL SCRIBES: what follows is essential Cormyr-related Realmslore. Clip and save!
Some of us already clip and save all of Ed's lore, my Lady. |
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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Jhastarr
Acolyte
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 05:00:20
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Hello The Hooded One & Ed
I was wondering if I could get the latitude for some Realms locations such as Waterdeep, Shadowdale, Arabel, Calimport, and The Great Mount of Ghaethluntar. Also, would there be a difference in latitude between 2nd edition and 3rd edition maps, since the maps look so different.
Thank you very much |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 06:25:05
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Somewhere within the last month or two was a long and in-depth discussion of all things geographic and earth science, including lines of latitude and longitude. Look back a little ways and you'll find it, and if you ask nicely I'm sure the guy who put so much effort into it would share the results of all his calculations. Though beware, you may end up with more information than you can deal with.
Sorry I can't be more specific, but I've got a brain like a steel sieve. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 13:01:50
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Another question for Ed
What ever became of Zeboaster of Ordulin? Did the Red Wizards of Thay or the Mykrulites ever catch up to him?
Thanks in advance |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Ty
Learned Scribe
USA
168 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 13:43:49
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The Hooded One,
My thanks to yourself and Mr. Greenwood for remembering my first question regarding Impiltur and the very prompt response to my second question about recipes. I think I may just have to try one of them... test it out of course on myself before the wife... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2005 : 22:45:08
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| I have what is hopefully a quick and easy question about greater doppelgangers... When two greater doppelgangers are in their assumed identities, can they each tell that the other is a doppelganger? |
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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2005 : 02:13:06
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Hello, all. The insanely busy Ed rides to the rescue, with a reply (of sorts) for kuje to take to Alurvelve, and these tidbits for other scribes, too:
Melfius, it’s great to see my pixie-blushing skills are unabated! :} Thanks!
Rinonalyrna, ’twas my pleasure, and I will do my utmost to sneak a little Filfaeril into my forthcoming fiction. It may take two years or even three before the opportunity arises, but I do plan ahead.
Kuje, you sure can pick ’em! Please convey this reply unto the WotC boards:
Alurvelve, I must begin with two warnings: first, I can’t give you a proper reply due to a current NDA (you’ll see why in about a year from now), and secondly, your DM rules. I can give suggestions, but they’ll be just that: suggestions.
I agree that trying to do a “hey, babe, see my shiny teeth as I smile my very best wolf smile” pickup attempt is just going to amuse her (at best). There are some vital things about the Srinshee that I’m not at liberty to reveal right now, but your judgement of her as one who’s ‘seen just about everything already’ isn’t far off the mark.
So as you so correctly said, your problem is how to stand out from all of her previous lovers and would-be suitors. And yes, you ARE going to “bite off more than you can chew.” If this proceeds at all, it’s going to change your life completely (and your DM may or may not want to move the campaign in that direction). Both of you should bear in mind that becoming her consort is nigh-impossible: even if you became her lover and fast friend, she’s going to want to shield you from much that she now does, and so she’s going to be an absent-for-long-periods, waiting-in-your-bed unexpectedly sort (at best).
So, to the wooing:
Recovering the Warblade first is essential, to show your worth (that quest will not be easy), and that you can accomplish things you set out to do. Keeping your promises regardless of the cost, and so on.
Secondly, and the key to success: show her you’re NOT out for her body or her power, and don’t view the world as an endless entertainment ground for you and your friends, or yourself as important at all.
Show her (and you’d better really mean it, because she’ll test you and peer into your mind to make sure) that you’re a kindred spirit to her: you’re looking ahead and working to bring about what’s best for all elves (some accomodation with the drow, the ‘working together’ that the Srinshee saw missing from Myth Drannor when she vanished with the Crownblade). In other words, a fellow soldier in the same war she’s fighting.
Someone she can trust, who will stand alongside her in working to bring about not just a more glorious future for elvenkind, but for all Faerűn. The ONLY compliment that will work with her is telling her you can see some of what she’s been striving for, and admire her more than anyone else you can think of, for the work she’d dedicated herself to.
The Srinshee does love intimacy and lovemaking, but to thrust yourself at her would be a great mistake. Let HER decide when things will go beyond hand-kissing and bowing. This is one entity for whom becoming their best friend is your best way to more intimate things.
I can’t say much more without hampering your DM and unfolding play in the campaign you’re in, other than to wish you the best of luck, and bow in your direction for daring to try such a thing.
It’s moments like these that make me proud to have created and shared the Realms.
PLEASE let me know how things turn out!
So saith Ed. Whew. I agree. And boy, is Ed sitting on some Srinshee secrets he can’t share right now! Hard and spiky things, NDAs!
Also, a note to Jhastarr, for Jerryd’s superb calculations and discussions of place-latitudes on Toril, see Page 80 of the 2004 Questions for Ed thread, elsewhere in the Chamber of Sages.
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2005 : 02:36:01
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Thanks Ed, will send it over to that poster right after I add it to my file of course.
Speaking of NPC's again. Can Ed supply some other lore on some of the NPCs, I don't care which ones, he can pick, that would be about thier pets, fav foods, books/scrolls/plays/entertainments they like, any anything else he feels he wants to add, etc. :) He can choose some of the "iconic" NPC's or some that have been forgotting in the last 15 years. :)
And I don't mean to pick these types of topics but we love your world Ed and we want to know the things that TSR wouldn't let you print and WOTC won't print either. :) I devour anything you send to us.
Look Ed has more groupies. :) And if you couldn't tell, I had a blast meeting you in Canada for your book tour. Hells, I even ignored my kidney stone that night just to meet you. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
Edited by - Kuje on 23 Feb 2005 03:10:16 |
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Sanishiver
Senior Scribe
USA
476 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2005 : 02:56:34
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quote:
Originally posted by JhastarrI was wondering if I could get the latitude for some Realms locations such as Waterdeep, Shadowdale, Arabel, Calimport, and The Great Mount of Ghaethluntar.
If I've got this figured out right JerryD (he of the pages long conversation with Ed of late) is working up just such information, as there are postings to the Realms-L mailing list that hint as much.
Jerry are you out there? If you are working up such lore can you give your fellow scribes a web link to anything you might have posted thus far? |
09/20/2008: Tiger Army at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. You wouldn’t believe how many females rode it out in the pit. Santa Cruz women are all of them beautiful. Now I know to add tough to that description.
6/27/2008: WALL-E is about the best damn movie Pixar has ever made. It had my heart racing and had me rooting for the good guy.
9/9/2006: Dave Mathews Band was off the hook at the Shoreline Amphitheater.
Never, ever read the game books too literally, or make such assumptions that what is omitted cannot be. Bad DM form, that.
And no matter how compelling a picture string theory paints, if it does not accurately describe our universe, it will be no more relevant than an elaborate game of Dungeons and Dragons. --paragraph 1, chapter 9, The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene |
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Melfius
Senior Scribe
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2005 : 02:59:35
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| High praise, indeed, kuje! Meeting Ed IS more important than a kidney stone! As a fellow sufferer, I would do the same! |
Melfius, Pixie-Priest of Puck - Head Chef, The Faerie Kitchen, Candlekeep Inn
"What's in his pockets, besides me?"
Read a tale of my earlier days! - Happiness Comes in Small Packages |
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Athenon
Acolyte
USA
43 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2005 : 04:52:40
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Ed and THO,
I'm running a campaign that is based in Silverymoon. I just got the new "Lost Empires of Faerun" (which I think is very well done) and I notice that there's a reference to Silverymoon's mythal that states that all evilly aligned creatures are affected by an Antipathy spell. Without delving into rules, this would probably mean that there are no evil beings in the entire city. Is this consistent with you original view of the city? Just curious as that seems rather sweeping (and also would make it difficult to use the city as a campaign base in the long run - nobody trying to use and abuse my PCs!!).
Thank you as always! |
Will Maranto
Representing the Realms in the Wilds of Northern Louisiana |
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Gerath Hoan
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2005 : 00:41:57
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Hi Ed,
I've just got my copy of Lost Empires of Faerun and i was very intrigued by the magelord prestige class and writeup. I was just wondering how much input you would have had on that... did you provide any lore for the authors?
Also, i notice that the magelord does not necessarily have to be evil... and as i'm in the process of converting an old 2nd Edition PC to 3.5, i was thinking of making him a magelord (i already know he's definitely going to be a rogue/wizard hybrid). Do you think that would conflict with the fact that this character is also a Harper or can someone (in your opinion) use the magelord tradition within a Harper's moral framework?
Thanks,
GH |
Knight of the Order of the Keen Eye - Granted by Ed Greenwood, 30th January 2005 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2005 : 01:10:45
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Hello, all. Ed makes swift reply to Borch in his “smaller query” about Stormkeep:
Hi, Borch. You’ve missed nothing, because until the earlier Candlekeep post of mine you referred to, this feature hasn’t been mentioned at all in published Realmslore (so far as I can remember).
The Stormkeep is the old and massive stone fortress at the westernmist end of the city walls of Baldur’s Gate (the castle of four closely-linked stone towers). Its more formal name, used by no one but heralds and fussy city clerks and sages these days, is the Keep of Storms, and it was called that purely because lightning bolts often struck it in olden days when storms swept onshore. These days, a ward conducts all lightning discharges away into the ground about a bowshot northwest of the towers.
The Stormkeep is the oldest (though many times rebuilt) and still the tallest fortification of Baldur’s Gate. Its height was intended to give defenders a ‘long view’ out to sea (when fogs permit), allow them to fly signal banners or lights visible a long way out at sea, and to elevate the catapults and ballistae emplaced atop the four towers enough to give them a ‘reach of fire’ farther out to sea than a ground-level or low tower-top would afford them.
Today, the Stormkeep contains city armories, dungeons, workshops (storing, among other things, several disassembled but ready for swift use catapults and ballistae), and granaries. There are rumors of gargoyles and even stranger monsters having once been kept there, that escaped and still lurk about the tower, preying on the lone and unwary (Elminster says such rumors shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, but that defenders of Baldur’s Gate should have nothing to fear, thanks to the spectral undead of former Baldurian guards haunting the tower). There are also persistent rumors of portals to distant places being hidden in the towers, and of a tunnel beneath the dungeons of one of them, that runs underneath the harbor-mouth clear across it to Arbristae’s Tower, the lone, large tower at the OTHER end of the city walls (again, Elminster says these tales should be believed). [Arbristae was a young sorceress thought to have been murdered as the tower was being built, and her blood mixed with the mortar; because she was slain with spells, the huge tower has a lingering receptivity to magic. Elminster confirms this tale to be true, as well, and notes that Arbristae is little remembered in ‘the Gate’ these days, and many other names have been applied to ‘her’ tower, down the years.]
Most Baldurians think of Stormkeep as “old, bleak, forbidding, unbowed, solid, and uncomfortable,” and it would be the first place they’d think of some corrupt or deceitful city clerk or even Grand Duke of hiding something large (like a golem) from the city - - because such things have been done in the past. Elminster regarded the ceiling and told it innocently, “And may even be going on right now - - who knows?”
So saith Ed. Sly adventure-weaver that he is.
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2005 : 01:49:44
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Arbristae was a young sorceress thought to have been murdered as the tower was being built, and her blood mixed with the mortar; because she was slain with spells, the huge tower has a lingering receptivity to magic. Elminster confirms this tale to be true, as well, and notes that Arbristae is little remembered in ‘the Gate’ these days, and many other names have been applied to ‘her’ tower, down the years.]
This almost sounds like the living castle that Embra was almost totally made into in your Band of Four novels. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2005)
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