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Zanan
Senior Scribe
Germany
942 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Oct 2005 : 10:25:58
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Thanks to Ed for the quick reply, Kuje for his assistance, and best regards to The Hooded One!
Aluve, Zanan! |
Cave quid dicis, quando et cui!
Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!
In memory of Alura Durshavin.
Visit my "Homepage" to find A Guide to the Drow NPCs of Faerûn, Drow and non-Drow PrC and much more. |
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Lord of Bones
Seeker
United Kingdom
78 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2005 : 12:44:21
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Hello there! 
I have a question regarding the Simbul and her animosity towards the Red Wizards.
We all know that the Simbul is something of a loose cannon, and a bit of a crazy lady, but do you think she would attack (with intent to kill) a wizard she knew to be Thayan upon sight, or would it be more likely that she'd send him or her back to Thay via a handy spell, or alternatively capture the wandering Red Wizard?
Obviously this is going on the basis that a Red Wizard would be strolling through Aglarond, but I don't think they're fools enough to wear the ceremonial robes and reveal their complex tattoos at all times.
In addition, are we to presume that there has been any sort of relationship between the Simbul and Lauzoril since the book 'The Simbul's Gift'? It would seem that his personality has changed somewhat from "I believe Thay is destined to rule Faerun, but not a Faerun drenched in blood" to "let's march our armies upon our enemies" (at least according to the new FRCS.) The relationship between the two archmages was interesting to say the least. It's a pity it's never really been picked up on in any other book than that novel.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
LoB |
Come watch the Gentleman's Guide to Gaming!
http://www.youtube.com/user/clackclickbang
On my channel I review and dissect role-playing games with great gusto. Please do take a look and let me know what you think. |
Edited by - Lord of Bones on 17 Oct 2005 21:34:47 |
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RangerDeWood
Acolyte
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2005 : 21:07:26
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Mr. Greenwood,
Recently I've been working on a campaign that focuses around the region of Faerun known as the Battle of Bones. I was wondering how the region came to be? I've done some deep research and there seem to be no references to the area outside of Elminster's Ecologies Appendix 1, which deals exclusively with the area. Even then, there is only a brief and quite vague description of the history of the area. It says that it was fomerly called Torgot's Triangle, but finding any leads that reference that name end up short as well. I went as far as finding a map detailing Faerun during the the height of the Netheril Empire only to find that the region then was a wide, flat plain. So, with a hopeful heart I come here to ask the Master himself. Any information that you could give regarding the history and creation of the Battle of Bones area or Torgor's Triange specifically would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
- RangerDeWood |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2005 : 22:37:38
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| Ed, THO, or anyone who might know, does Westgate have thier own coinage? If so, what are they called by gold, electrum, silver, copper, and trade bars? If possible, I need this asap.... :) |
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 17 Oct 2005 22:38:02 |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2005 : 23:12:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And yes, Wooly and Sage, the secrets next to my skin are very fluffy and quite comfortable. 
Hamsters are fluffy next to skin, too.  
Yeah but they also get fleas!!! |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2005 : 23:50:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And yes, Wooly and Sage, the secrets next to my skin are very fluffy and quite comfortable.
Hamsters are fluffy next to skin, too.
Yeah but they also get fleas!!!
I assure you I am quite clean, well-groomed, and flealess. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Gray Richardson
Master of Realmslore
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2005 : 01:09:33
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Do giant space hamsters ever get giant space fleas?  |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2005 : 01:13:16
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How about we stop filling this with pointless discussion. :)
And to THO: Please check your email that you have listed in your profile. :) |
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 18 Oct 2005 01:17:10 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2005 : 04:06:31
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Hi again, all. Ed makes reply to Mournblade’s query: “Is there any area of the realms specifically Faerun, that would suit the Geology of the American Southwest? (other than of course Maztica) . . . I am trying to find an area of the realms that represents the Geology of the American Southwest, Like Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. I do not mean wild west lifestyle, I mean more of the rocky desert terrain, complete with Cactus, Cougars, and the FEEL of those western environments.
Most of the deserts in the realms seem to be Sandy dune deserts like those of the middle east and africa.”
Ed replies:
If you’ve access to my original FR13 ANAUROCH sourcebook, that huge desert has three distinct regions; the southern one is hot sandy, the middle one is rocky (and fairly close to what you’re looking for), and the most northerly one is frozen.
The uplands northeast of Ulgarth are EXACTLY (frigid nights, hot days, mesas and buttes and petrified forests and waterless rock-rubble gulches) the sort of terrain you’re seeking, as are the lands northwest of Fuirgar (bounded by the Dragonsword Mountains, Raurin, and the salt flats around Azulduth).
There are also some small areas of the eastern Bandit Wastes (in the foothills to the north of the mountains that form the natural boundaries of Halruaa) of that sort of terrain, although most of that area is too well-watered to have the real desert “feel.”
Voila: two sizable areas and two smaller ones. Have fun!
So saith Ed, creator of Furigar, Raurin, Halruaa, and the whole works.
love to all,
THO
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thom
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2005 : 16:03:12
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Hey THO, you might have missed this, but I had a question specifically for you as a gamer in the original Realms. If you didn't miss it - I humbly ask forgiveness.
When a typical adventuring group goes tavern crawling in a town anywhere besides Cormyr, do they just waltz in fully armed & armored? All Plate mailed up, halbards and greatswords piled on their backs, wizards with their wands in their wand golf bag? This assumes the group is not trying to hide out or be inconspicuous, they're just wanting to spend their hard-earned gold.
Or do they "dress down" when going to your typical wharf dive; say only leathers, & smaller weapons? I'm asking because my group is heading into the main town of the campaign & they're asking what to expect...so what did the Knights typically do when going tavern crawling?? I can't image a typical tavern having a "dress code" for patrons - but I thought I'd check with you.
Thanks as always for any insights!
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2005 : 01:51:30
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Hello, fellow scribes. I interrupt the regularly-scheduled Ed answer for tonight to deal with two urgent requests.
First, for Kuje, I bring you these words from Ed on the coinage used in Westgate:
Hi, Kuje! Westgate no longer regularly mints its own coins, but coinage of many lands is accepted there - - and valued as currency is in most places: by condition, metal (purity), size (amount of metal), and origin.
“Origin” refers to where a coin comes from, and the respect such a place commands (for consistent quality of coins and freedom from counterfeiting, or at least counterfeits of less metal value than originals, nothing more). Coins of Amn, Cormyr, Luskan, Mirabar, Sembia, Silverymoon, Tethyr, and Waterdeep are considered the best-made in Faerûn, and are most highly valued in trade everywhere in known Faerûn. Cormyr’s coins are very pure metal and of heavy weight, and age well; Sembian coins are slightly inferior (see p91 of the FRCS, of course, for details of these two denominations).
In Westgate (as in the Dales, Moonsea, Vilhon, Dragonreach, Vast, and Dragon Coast), the coins of Cormyr and Sembia are common, everyday ‘standard’ coinage. Westgate also accepts the authokh and belbolt (see Page 40 of the 2004 Questions for Eddie thread), whereas all the other places I listed above do not.
So saith Ed. Secondly, I make personal reply to thom’s question: “When a typical adventuring group goes tavern crawling in a town anywhere besides Cormyr, do they just waltz in fully armed & armored? All Plate mailed up, halbards and greatswords piled on their backs, wizards with their wands in their wand golf bag? This assumes the group is not trying to hide out or be inconspicuous, they're just wanting to spend their hard-earned gold.
Or do they "dress down" when going to your typical wharf dive; say only leathers, & smaller weapons? I'm asking because my group is heading into the main town of the campaign & they're asking what to expect...so what did the Knights typically do when going tavern crawling?? I can't image a typical tavern having a "dress code" for patrons - but I thought I'd check with you.”
Sorry, dear, I’ve been travelling on assignment this week, and just cut-and-pasting Ed’s replies before I hit the sack every night, so I shelved this query until I could get home and get off the adrenalin high that always results from people shooting at me. However, I quite see the urgency of your request, so here’s my reply:
It depends. (Ha ha.)
No, really, it does. On the place and situation, I mean. In all backland or frontier areas, “fully armed and armoured” is the norm. It impresses folk (particularly the local bullies, drunks, and gangs) that these visitors aren’t to be messed with, for one thing. To avoid getting a crossbow bolt in the face (fired from a ready bow scooped up from behind the bar), it’s traditional to avoid entering in a rush, or with a war-cry or shouted threat, or with a weapon drawn UNLESS it’s a sword offered hilt-first, like a cross, to signify peaceful intent.
Daggers don’t count unless you’re trying to gain access to royalty or a holy sanctum, because most everybody wears one (a belt knife, at least), and no regard is given them.
Some cities and towns have a “surrender weapons” rule, at the door (with armed “cloakroom” guards to accept and safe-store such items), but this is again almost always a “peaceful intent” signal: everyone hands over their largest, most awkward weapon, and openly goes on carrying other weaponry. Wizards NEVER surrender their stuff (at a temple or court, yes, tavern or inn no), but that means rings, strange sparkling gewgaws, wands and staves: a glowing sword would be demanded to “set aside.” Those who refuse are refused entrance, NOT attacked to force them to hand anything over (if they force their way in, they might get jumped by everyone, but more likely will be silently ignored - - and NOT served - - by everyone, whilst the kitchen lad runs like blazes out the back door to get the Watch or local equivalent.
However, when it’s wartime, everyone will usually be armed and armoured - - unless recent brawls or invasions have caused a “no steel” law to be decreed, in which case ANY weapon will be cause for alarm.
There’s also another factor, pointed at by your asking if adventurers would “dress down” into leathers and smaller weapons when doing into a “wharf dive.” If wading into “tough guy” territory, prudent adventurers may well leave expensive, top-quality armour, weapons, and gear “at home” or at least conceal it in canvas covers, to look less well-heeled. Otherwise, they could get jumped and knocked cold or slain just so drinkers can strip them for their stuff. Most seasoned adventurers don’t rub the noses of hard-working men or the desperate or drunken sailors (or any other sort of drunks) in their own success, but try to blend in. For one thing, if you stride in all shining, you’ll hear no gossip; if you slink in with tousled hair and street-dirtied face and grim expression, dressed no better than anyone else and challenging no-one, you’ll be more readily accepted and are less likely to have fights picked with you, or the local louts trying to pick up female party members or those of locally-unusual races, skin colours, or “looks.”
In general, yes, go armed and armored, but act peaceful. If you go in a door and immediately collect a hard glare from the tavernmaster across the bar, and the room goes silent, spread your empty hands, slowly, and say, “peace be upon this house.”
You can also add: “I thirst, my blade does not.”
Do NOT try any PRINCESS BRIDE stuff (e.g. “There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this kingdom; it’d be a pity to damage yours.”) unless your DM is Ed Greenwood; even joking threats aren’t taken well.
That covers things, I hope?
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2005 : 02:05:43
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| My thanks, Ed. As usual. :) |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2005 : 02:45:57
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I'm not sure if a scribe has already noted this here at Candlkeeep, but the third part of Ed's Oroon Rising is now up at WotC's Legendology website.
love,
THO |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Verghityax
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2005 : 20:03:56
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Dear Lady Hooded One,
I just wanted to ask how Ed's "research" on my queries is going (especially about Scornubel and Iriaebor)? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2005 : 03:08:39
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Hello again, fellow scribes. Ed makes reply to Bendal’s query:
“. . . there are some hills to the SW of the Evermoors that are not described in any of the published books for the area. It's a sizable area, bounded by the Evermoors and the Surbrin River to the east and west, and north of Yartar. Is there anything of interest in these hills, and what may be their names? I've assumed that they are sparsely forested, with less and less trees as you approach the moors to the north, but is there anything else? Flora, fauna, organized humanoid bands, etc?”
Ed replies:
Bendal, only on the most recent maps of the Realms has the artwork simplified representation of the topography enough to suggest hills separate from the Evermoors. The area you refer to is most accurately depicted on pages 62 and 63 of the original print (Fonstad) FR Atlas, and most clearly mapped in the close-up “mini-maps” on pages 39, 64 (in particular), 75 and 84 of VOLO’S GUIDE TO THE NORTH. Please note the presence of the features of Flint Rock (the Uthgardt ancestral mound), Horn Stream, and the settlement of Mornbryn’s Shield (described beginning on page 63 of that particular TSR collection of Volo’s writings), as well as the fact that the Surbrin IS the western border of the Evermoors. So there aren’t any distinct, separate hills to be named.
You’re correct in assuming that the hills on this western edge of the Surbrin are windswept, with sparse soil or bare rock tops and flanks, with only scrub conifers on the heights and with the real trees crowding in steep-sided, long ravines sheltered from the worst of the winds by the higher rock all around.
Like the Stonelands north of Cormyr, it’s “breakleg, breakneck” country, roadless and with very little flat terrain. Travel is an exhausting sequence of climbing loose moss-and-scree slopes, crossing or walking along knife-edge bare rock ridges, and then plunging down steep, rock-strewn ravine sides to the bottom, to pick a route along amid the water and the boulders, or to climb its steep far side (and repeat the sequence). Great terrain for leucrotta, ettins, trolls, bears, mink and marten, foxes and hares, outlaws, small raiding bands of orcs, goblins, bugbears, and gnolls, and (rarely) galeb duhr.
As one travels north or east or northeast, deeper into the Evermoors, the “plateau” or ridgetop areas grow larger, forming the moor (still riddled with the winding trenches of ravines, looking somewhat like the “seams” between the lobes of a human brain), but aside from some of the ravines being larger, too, the terrain stays more or less the same for miles, until we get into the heart of the moors and something a lot more like the Scottish highlands. As one travels inward, the trolls grow more numerous, crowding out most of the other species I’ve just listed.
Now, the hills WEST of the Surbrin, that the Horn Stream flows out of, are known (imaginatively enough) as the Horn Hills. They are much less rugged than the Evermoors, consisting of a thick layer of soil over the same sort of rock ridges, and so are cloaked in scrub “wilderland” woods (lots of dead pine trees and smaller, wind-bowed living trees). Many deer (in at least three herds, led by fearsome stags) roam these hills, and there are some old cave-tombs of unknown origin (often used as lairs by bears and outlaws). Tiny streams (and thus, abundant drinking-water) can be found everywhere, some of the ravines are filled with small bog, marshes, or tarns (lakes), and all of the above-listed fauna of the Surbrin, plus the folk of Yartar and Mornbryn’s Shield, venture into the Horn Hills often (for all but the smallest critters I listed, they go there to hunt deer).
So saith Ed. Bendal, I know the sources Ed references look a bit different from the large-scale 3rd Edition map of the Realms; do you have access to these older sources?
love,
THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2005 : 06:40:13
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My lady, I should like to thank you and Ed for mentioning a book... In the 2004 thread, a non-Realms book that got mentioned a couple of times was Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I'd not heard of it until it was mentioned here. After checking out a couple of reviews of it, I decided to read it for myself.
I just finished it, staying up late to do so. I very much enjoyed it -- it's one of the best non-Realms books I've read in a long time. So thanks to you both for mentioning it and piquing my curiosity.  |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Bendal
Seeker
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 20 Oct 2005 : 16:13:07
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THO,
Thank you so much for Ed's reply to my geographical question. Yes I do have the older maps, which sparked my interest in the region. His and your information will be very helpful in my campaign. Thanks again! |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2005 : 02:42:51
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Ed
Thomas has said that Mysteries of the Moonsea wont be focusing alot on Phlan (It will focus more on the Moonsea heavy weights like Zhentil keep, Mulmaster and Hillsfar)
The old SSI Pool of Radience computer game was my introduction to the realms, so I have some what of a soft spot for the city and was wondering if you'd consider covering Phlan in one of your cities articles for Dragon magazine?
Hooded One: Did the Knights of Myth Drannor ever adventure in Phlan in the home campaign?
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“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 Oct 2005 : 03:41:24
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Hello again, all. Ed replies to Kajehase’s question: “How widespread is the use of skis, skates, snowshoes, sleighs, and similar implements and vehicles in the Realms?”
Ed speaks:
Very. The cover of FR5 THE SAVAGE FRONTIER shows (left rear, if I recall correctly) a typical goods-sledge, and much use is made of such conveyances in the North. In country not heavily imperiled by raiding orcs or other such dangers, “winter lulls” (times free of storms, where it’s bitter cold but the sun blazes down on the snow) are the best times for moving goods, because a sledge can traverse frozen rivers, lakes, and streams as readily as snow, without all that swearing and struggling in mud and stinging insects, to load and unload or portage or lighten loads or to get a conveyance “unstuck.”
Actually, to be more specific, the use of “bearpaw” snowshoes and sleighs is widespread, as is tumpline- or waist-harness-dragged toboggan-style personal gear “darras” pulled by someone walking on snowshoes, but true skis or skates are less well-known (dwarves have toe-blade boots made for climbing icefalls that can be used as skates if one bends one’s ankles so as to run along on the shaped sides of the blades, and know all about using pointed javelins (double-ended spears) for traction on ice and for balance.
The Rashemi use snowshoes, sleighs, toboggans, and slit-eye carved wooden “ice goggles,” too, but rarely use skates. Many remote wilderland Rashemi use a single-ski and poles when the snow is deep enough, and tow goods along behind them on an upturned shield at the end of a long rope (in a “snow saucer”).
So saith Ed. Who was once a daredevil snow-saucer tumbler (down cliff, head over snowy heels, bouncing several times with force enough to split the metal saucer) . . . but that was long, long ago, when the world was young and still cooling, and everything was black and white, and - -
Heh, heh. Ed hath responded to those last few words of mine with some VERY rude words.
Wooly, you’re VERY welcome. Ed loves discovering fantasy classics (hey, who doesn’t?) and wanted everyone to know about this one.
Verghityax, I can’t tell you. I have, however, passed your query on to Ed, to see what he’ll say.
Dargoth, we never visited Phlan, because we ran into hostile Zhents before we ever got that far around the Moonsea. I’ve passed your request along to Ed, but please be aware that he has a long “set” list of approved-by-WotC cities that he’s working from.
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2005 : 03:58:23
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So THO,
What is with all of the ?'s in your last reply. :) |
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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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 21 Oct 2005 : 17:18:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Scarabeus
I don't know if it's been said before, but Asgetrion’s question made me think of a very good text (written by Ed I can guess) about Fylgard "the Fat". It depitcs the life of a ropemaker (and merchant)making a living in Waterdeep. There's an incredible amount of informations in this text about the City and the Sword Coast. It can be found in the City of Splendor boxed set (Who's Who in Waterdeep, Appendix One).
Thanks for the tip, Scarabeus I think I have to get my hands on that boxed set! I always love to read more about the "everyday life" in the Realms, since almost everyone in my gaming group prefer characters who also have a life outside adventuring (= with a lot of skill ranks in craft and/or profession skills ;) |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2005 : 02:49:19
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To Finglas Leaflock, Ed of the Greenwood makes long-awaited reply about the moon elven clan Ammath:
House Ammath was a family numerous in Myth Drannor, but never socially powerful or highly regarded by the sun elves of that city. In fact, some senior, haughtier “goldskins” sneered at the Ammath elves for being “little better than the humans they so freely couple and drudge in the dirt with.”
Those same Ammath elves merely laughed at such insults, because they DID enjoy the company of humans, and dwarves, and their new ways of doing things and restless energy to DO things NOW, and stride ahead hurriedly into a brighter life. So House Ammath elves dabbled in dozens of trades and different relationships, with varying degrees of success. Some became nigh-coinless vagabonds, others bareskinned “wild” deep woods dwellers who hunted alone and shunned all society, still others became bright-vested traders as often seen in the Dragonreach ports as the human merchants they dealt with, and yet others strove to become as haughty and highspire-towered as the sun elves who mocked them.
Most House Ammath elves were practical and worldly, and became more so as Myth Drannor flourished. So many of them were guides and spies and skirmishers in the battles leading up to the Fall, and ended up scattered far and wide as they watched the foes of Myth Drannor and took messages to far-flung elves and shifted precious younglings and family treasures and pregnant mothers of many Houses far across the face of Faerûn, to keep them safe from the dark storm to come.
Come it did, and House Ammath elves fell in scores and dozens in the fighting, for the most part valiant, swift and fearless to the last - - yet avoiding the vainglorious follies of haughtier elves, perishing instead on practical missions.
Yet their very farflung scattering meant that many Ammath elves survived the Fall. Some were so shattered by the loss of the City of Song that they changed their names and shunned the company of other elves, settling in Waterdeep and a dozen other human cities, and seeking to forget their heritage in new lives as procurers, vintners, decorators, composers, and (sometimes-shady) investors. Others sought to reach Evermeet, or went to Evereska and there schemed with like-minded Fair Folk to refound elven realms by the sword. Some became adventurers, and a few hid in safeholds for centuries, emerging to roam the Cormanthan woods as brooding, deadly slayers.
Most (but not all) House Ammath elves today use the colors of silver on blue, and the device of a silver six-stringed hand harp encircled by an oval of silver flames, all blazing upwards.
Among the best-known wandering family members are Raerivel Ammath (CG male moon elf Bard12/Shadowdancer5), a merry prankster and seducer of rich human women in Sembia and Amn; the drawling, deadly duelist Sualammitor Ammath (CN male moon elf Rog11/Duelist6), whose manner isn’t much different than that of the notorious Elaith (though he’s a loner, not a crime lord like Elaith is); and the fat, thoroughly “humanized” merchant trader Elaunduth ‘Ears’ Ammath (CN male moon elf Ftr3/Rog5/Exp4: painter and forger), whose wagons trundle around Sembia selling superior goods (such as masterwork weapons, everyday items with hidden storage compartments, erotic paintings and sculptures, lockpicks that don’t look like lockpicks, decanters with concealed “second compartments” for the storage of a different drink than the main body of the item) discreetly to those willing to pay fair coin for them, and who lives and works with six beautiful human women who act the roles of giggling emptyheads in public but are accomplished spies and negotiators.
House Ammath remains so scattered and its members so varied in lifestyles and philosophies that the family can’t really be said to have a “head,” but it does have members who behave more or less as matriarchs and patriarchs do.
Nurlavelle Ammath (NG female moon elf Sor4/Exp5: weaver and dyer) is a crusty, disapproving-of-much-of-Faerûn-today crone, ancient even among elves. She dwells in Evereska, where she’s grimly rebuilding - - and lamenting the passing of times “when folk knew their places and roles, and behaved themselves.”
Aumaethe Ammath (CG female moon elf Sor6/Rog5/Shadowdancer3) is a long-retired adventuress who now plays kindly den mother to many of her kin, keeping ‘open bower’ (we real-world humans would say “open house,” or “my door’s always open”) to any Ammath elf (and companions) in her forest glade (a clearing in the middle of what some elves would call “a large woodlot”) home southwest of Highmoon. About a dozen Ammath elves dwell permanently in Aumaethe’s house, doting on her (and her cooking), and guarding her from unfriendly visitors with their swiftly hurled daggers and faster, deadlier arrows.
Rosezelle Ammath (CN female moon elf Sor7) is a fiery, venom-tongued landlord and patron of artists in Saerloon, who keeps to her high-gated mansion and hosts small, exclusive feasts when painters or sculptors she’s sponsored (humans, elves, half-elves, and halflings) want to exhibit new works to the buying public. Rosezelle is almost as beautiful as she thinks she is, and that’s beautiful indeed, her high-piled hair exquisitely styled and her gowns and “skinstars” glow enchantments perfectly suited to showing off her ivory-skinned curves.
Raurdren Ammath (CG male moon elf Ftr7/Rog6) is a one-eyed, eyepatch-wearing, roaring roisterer of an old rip who looks and sounds like he saw a ham actor badly overplaying the part of an old pirate, fell in love with the result, and has modeled himself enthusiastically after it ever since. His tanned skin is striped with an impressive bone-white scar that runs fron temple to jaw, bisecting his missing eye, and he affects long, sweeping white moustaches as impressive as any human or dwarf can manage. Raurdren likes to drink (out of truly oversized metal goblets), sing, dance, belch, pass wind, make lewd comments, and hire young elf and half-elf lasses to decorate his lap and listen to him. He dwells in Ordulin, and crashes every revel he can there (almost always to the delight of the hosts, who regard him as the most colourful local ornament; his boar-like behaviour is even welcomed at most weddings). He owns modest upper-floor apartments in Ordulin, Selgaunt, Saerloon, and Daerlun, and wanders from one such base to another, as the spirit takes him. In his former careers as a grim, deadly, close-lipped mercenary and a daring adventurer, he obviously made a LOT of coin, because he sees to have no shortage of it now, and also to own city properties everywhere in Sembia, and to have sponsored scores of small shopkeepers. Many young adventurers come to him for advice, which he dispenses freely, and he’s been known to stage a flamboyant rescue or two when such “young blades” run into trouble.
And there you have it. Hope having such kin doesn’t distress your character TOO much.
So saith Ed. Who’s left me wanting to see Raurdren and Mirt in the same room. With lasses and the usual small forest of decanters, of course.
love to all,
THO
P.S. Kuje: what ?s |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2005 : 02:53:50
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| Odd, they cleaned themselves up but last night all the "'s were ?'s. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2005 : 02:59:14
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Okay, that sort of problem always arises from a "character set" mismatch between browser and site. I wonder if it was my end? Or at Candlekeep? Or in the aether between?
This last post (Ed's Ammath clan reply) is okay. isn't it? Both posts displayed just fine on my machine, while posting.
love,
THO |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2005 : 03:06:40
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Okay, that sort of problem always arises from a "character set" mismatch between browser and site. I wonder if it was my end? Or at Candlekeep? Or in the aether between?
This last post (Ed's Ammath clan reply) is okay. isn't it? Both posts displayed just fine on my machine, while posting.
love,
THO
Yup, both of them are fine now and maybe my puter was possessed last night and it turned all of the "'s and ''s into ?'s. :) Damn Samhain gremlins. |
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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Thysl
Seeker
USA
64 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2005 : 03:31:18
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Lady o' the Hood -
I see that Mr. Greenwood has taken to using an abbreviated 3rd edition character block. Has he made the switch?
Also, the Ammath post was spectacular! Those are the best kinds of 'Ed love'!!
Thysl |
There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.
--Carl Jung |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2005 : 06:25:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Thysl
Lady o' the Hood -
I see that Mr. Greenwood has taken to using an abbreviated 3rd edition character block. Has he made the switch?
Also, the Ammath post was spectacular! Those are the best kinds of 'Ed love'!!
Thysl
Actually, the highly abbreviated stat block (more of a stat line) was common in 2E. I think it more likely that Ed is simply translating into 3E gamespeak for our benefit. |
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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Zanan
Senior Scribe
Germany
942 Posts |
Posted - 22 Oct 2005 : 10:02:49
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Vendui Hooded One!
Some years back, Elminster received a visitor to his tower in Shadowdale, presumably Volo, interested in drow lore. He met the sage near that little pool, talking to a drow female. The latter was introduced as one Susprina Arkhenneld, a former apprentice of Elminster. Well, I know of a wizard of some power going by the same surname and hailing from the city of Sshamath. Is this Calimar Arkhenneld in any way related to Susprina and does Ed know what became of her after her visit to Shadowdale?
I'd love to give her some more detail than just a name in my collection* ...
http://www.dnd-gate.de/gate3/page/index.php?id=420
... of all the dark elves of Faerûn.
(*Last updated in 8/2005.)
PS: That meeting happened in the introduction of The Drow of the Underdark, not that I write this, of course. |
Cave quid dicis, quando et cui!
Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!
In memory of Alura Durshavin.
Visit my "Homepage" to find A Guide to the Drow NPCs of Faerûn, Drow and non-Drow PrC and much more. |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2005)
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