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Dalmar Amad
Seeker
Germany
56 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Apr 2010 : 01:10:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Menelvagor
And what do 'yn', 'el' and 'yi' mean? Son of? From?
Quite right, according to Empires of the Shinig Sea, a great second edition source btw, 'yn' means son of. 'El' means of family or house, while 'yi' refers to this person's birthplace or residence.
Edit:
Dalmar yn Rashid el Djenispool yi Calimport would be Dalmar, son of Rashid, of House Djenispool, living in Calimport. |
Edited by - Dalmar Amad on 08 Apr 2010 01:18:08 |
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
374 Posts |
Posted - 29 Apr 2010 : 16:24:00
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Steven, scribes.
I was wondering about a spell that Khelben cast in 'Blackstaff', as Malek. In the spell duel with Varret Tryshaln, where Khelben cast one of his 'simplest and newer spells', the spell that manipulated the cloth of Varret's robes, cloak and hood, thus constricting him. Is this spell to be found in any rulebooks, or have you jutted it down elsewhere? I would love to know the stats and name of that particular spell.
-Stig- |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2076 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2010 : 03:51:20
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Hey Steven, I've got a quick question on something from your amazing Sea of Fallen Stars book. Specifically, I'm wondering about the Laws of Battle. I think they're one of the most interesting thing about Seros, but the more I try to put them into practice, the more headaches I get. I'd like to ask for some of your thoughts, mostly on the Law of Heralds.
It seems the primary purpose of the Law of Heralds is to nullify sneak attacks of all sorts. My question is, how does this apply in practice? Obviously, if you've got two full-scale armies that come at each other, it's easy to send out the Heralds, air grievances, glare at each other for a few minutes, then start the fighting. But what if one army is much smaller than the other? Can the smaller army use the time required by the Law of Heralds to essentially say, "Screw it, we're out of here?" And if they turn and flee, can the other army immediately pursue?
Also, how does the Law of Heralds apply to scouts? (And, by extension, adventurers) Say you have two armies maneuvering in the open space between nations. Each one knows in general where the other is, but they're trying to find an advantageous position, so they maneuver and send out scouts. Those scouts, as part of the army, would technically be required to follow the Law of Heralds. But it seems both rather ridiculous and completely cross-purposes to have lone scouts in the vastness between armies to suddenly pop up and say, "Hi, I see you, now hold still for a few minutes so I can kill you."
Is there a "threshold" below which you can attack without giving warning? And how does this extend to adventurers? I would imagine some groups would get bad reputations for "not upholding the Laws of Battle," but I'd rather not stigmatize all adventurers for just attacking in a more "surface" manner at all times. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this and anything else you came up with about the Laws of Battle but that never made it into SoFS. Many thanks. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 27 May 2010 : 22:05:39
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Funny coincidence, that... my question is also regarding Sea of Fallen Stars (and it really is a brilliant piece of work). I'm working on a sahuagin realm off the shores of Osse (see the "Project Isle" scroll) and while browsing through that title, I found the name Keryth Adofaer, a young High Mage of Selu'Maraar... just wondering if that clan name has anything to do with the High Forest mythal city of the same (or similar) name, and if so, if anything more can be said other than "NDA"... 
Thanks!
Edit: Added link. |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
Edited by - Jakk on 27 May 2010 22:17:24 |
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sfdragon
Master of Realmslore
1411 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 04:59:43
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| any advice to share of writing stories?? |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2067 Posts |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 15:49:37
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I'm not Steven, but to mention a few basics:
Read a lot of other peoples' stories, especially ones in the genre you wish to work in.
Write a lot of your own stories. (Practice makes perfect and all that.)
Outlines are good.
Almost always avoid alliterations.
Show your stuff to others, preferrably ones who aren't afraid to tell you what was good, but also what sucked, and can do so in a nice and constructive manner (I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm a lot more likely to listen to someone who says "this bit here doesn't really work," than someone who claims to have become nauseated by my prose) |
"What do we want?
More discursiveness.
When do we want it?
Well, that's an interesting question..." |
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Rhewtani
Senior Scribe
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 21:52:55
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| Finished Blackstaff Tower last night. Thank you Steven, I enjoyed it a lot. Please write another. :) |
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
374 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2010 : 11:54:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Rhewtani
Finished Blackstaff Tower last night. Thank you Steven, I enjoyed it a lot. Please write another. :)
I concur. More novels Steven! |
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Rhewtani
Senior Scribe
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2010 : 18:02:58
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| Elfinblade - You know, I've since read 4 Dresden Files books. And I'm enjoying each on and simultaneously thinking ... man, I could use some more Blackstaff. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
24625 Posts |
Posted - 07 Jul 2010 : 02:44:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Rhewtani
Elfinblade - You know, I've since read 4 Dresden Files books. And I'm enjoying each on and simultaneously thinking ... man, I could use some more Blackstaff.
There's a wizard in the Dresden Files who bears the title Blackstaff. That character has little to do with Khelben, though.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Editor and scribe for The Candlekeep Compendium
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3301 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2010 : 02:55:50
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Steven,
Wooly and I have been speculating on another scroll what the source of Bran Skorlson's personal grudge against Khelben was.
Can you shed any light on that?
And can you let us know what you have been up to? Any writing? |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1106 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2010 : 02:35:51
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I understand that much of the Zhentarim lore in Cloak & Dagger was your work. If I am wrong, please inform me whom I should pester in preference for an answer.
When Fzoul Chembryl sent Ruinlord Glorganna to Reth, approximately how large was the expedition? How many priests, how many mages, how many soldiers, etc.? Was anyone else present whose name we might know from other Realslore (Ragnoth, perhaps)?
And once Fzoul's position was more secure and the Baneson's desires more evident, did Fzoul send any support to Reth?
After all, Fzoul expected her to establish a brand new temple in a city which did not know the worship of the Baneson at all and then expected her to begin ruling the city behind the scenes a mere two years later. Unless he was entirely out of touch with reality, he must have committed quite a lot of resources to this process.
Did the return of Bane have any impact on the long-term plans for the Church in Reth and then the Vilhon Reach? Did it result in resources being diverted away from the city or further support being sent?
Finally, how large would the Temple of Dark Eyes be in 1373 DR? How many priests and how many followers? How do they operate? Where is their focus to gain power? Is it in gaining control of the underworld? Direct overtures to the slave traders? Straight at the Seven Senators?
If you hadn't thought about some of that, I quite understand that anything you post would be merest speculation. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1106 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2010 : 01:00:51
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In the Cloak & Dagger supplement, it is noted that even the Shield Council believe that Helanna Darkstorm is a timber and ore merchant from Chondath.
Where in Chondath do they believe she came from? Did she do any business in Chondath before ascending to the Shield Council? Does anyone know her there? Where are her businesses located?
If I had to guess, I'd say that the place that best fits 'timber and ore merchant' from Chondath is Reth, seeing as it both imports metals from Impiltur and mines the Akanapeaks itself, as well as logging in the Nunwood. Other possibilities might be Hlath and Iljack, I guess.
Did you have any idea when you wrote it or is it intentionally left open? |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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jornan
Learned Scribe
Canada
190 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2010 : 05:04:14
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| I too want to know what your next novel is going to be about and when we can expect to see it. |
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1518 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2010 : 15:57:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Menelvagor
Well, I recently started rereading Blackstaff, finally managing to get my hands on it. Since when I last read it, I was in 6th grade, ther'll probably be lots of questions. Just so you have fair warning.
So, what can you tell us (anything? everything?) about Ashemmi, Sememmon and (I think) their son, Ashemmon? Also, are they the 'black-haired man straining against chains, his elf lover tortured before him by a shorter man in a mask' seen in Khelben's vision as he was Chosen?
Yes, that's S&A in that vision. As for anything else on their son Ashemmon, I've no permission to give out official info from WotC at the present time, alas.
quote:
What are the 'three truths, seven secrets, nine soulnames and thirteen omens' Mystra imparted on Khleben when he was Chosen?
Do you need to know them, honestly? That sentence was really just an author's flourish in wanting a fairy tale conceit of secrets mortals are not always meant to know. While some are mapped out in my notes (and remain NDA so as not to limit others working in the Realms today), most are more flourish than fact.
Still, if you need to know, some of the things, like at least two of the soulnames, are hidden in plain sigh inside both of my Blackstaff novels (look to quotes or comments, not exposition).
quote:
Lastly, who were the others in Khelben's vision - the bald man with an emerald in his eyesocket is probably Gamalon, and I assume the two I mentioned above are Ashemmi and Sememmon - but who're the 'white-bearded wizard with a red streak of hair at his lower lip, the dark skinned man with a dead right eye and a gold brand on his left temple,and the toothless old woman awash in the filth of the gutters despite her rich robes'?
They are three characters totally open for DMs to flesh out themselves. Think of them as my lessons learned from our Friendly Neighborhood Bearded One--they are the three doors opened after I closed a few doors in settling some of Khelben's past.
What I can tell you is this (off the top of my head):
A) They are all important to magic and Mystra (though at least one of them is a "were") and so they're more apt like characters Ed detailed in Secrets of the Magister;
B) All have been wizards or sorcerers at some point in their careers, though the lady left arcane magic behind for decades;
C) They are not all good people;
D) None of them has ever held a government or official post in any extant country of today's Realms (i.e. none of them are power players like Fzoul or Manshoon or Vangerdahast, etc.); and
E) Two of the three of them were present in the raising of New Rhymanthiin (and thus might be rejuvenated and active there still, if you so choose). The third has not had a heartbeat in more than two centuries nor a body for eight decades (though, it being the Realms, this has not stopped him from being an active player...wherever you choose to put him).
Hope that helps (and it's more than I'd planned to tell); and no, I'm not going to give you their names (as I think it's more fun for folks to find ways to fit them into their campaigns that way).
Steven |
For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore
Poland
1016 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2010 : 19:18:18
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quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Steven,
Wooly and I have been speculating on another scroll what the source of Bran Skorlson's personal grudge against Khelben was.
Can you shed any light on that?
<snip>
Since Steven has not tackled it, I'll pop in.
One option, two words.
1. Arilyn Moonblade
2. Harper Schism |
SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!
http://zireael07.wordpress.com/ |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2076 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2010 : 19:24:34
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Bran's grudge is significantly older than the Harper Schism. The Schism happened in part because of Bran's grudge, not the other way around.
It's at least as old as Arilyn, but I've always thought it was older than that, dating back to when Bran, Z'beryl, and Elaith were all (relatively) young adventurers. But I'll shut up now and see if Steven wants to shed any more light on this. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Enwy
Seeker
USA
30 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2010 : 20:56:31
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Steven,
I was recently rereading the TSR "Cloak and Dagger" supplement, and was wondering if there are any official lyrics to the song by Fandar Alabon featuring the line "The Kiss of Steel in Darkness" (whether it be a lyric or the song's title itself) as mentioned in the opening line of the "Shadow Thieves" segment. It's an odd question, but it's a small thing I'm dieing to find.
Thank you,
Enwy |
Bran thought about it. "Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?"
"That is the only time a man can be brave," his father told him.
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sfdragon
Master of Realmslore
1411 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2010 : 20:58:37
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do you have any new FR books in the works?
I'd ask you to read to read something for me, but you likely won't have the time either... |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
Edited by - sfdragon on 13 Oct 2010 22:30:27 |
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Elfinblade
Senior Scribe
Norway
374 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2010 : 22:23:40
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| Good to see you back on the boards Steven. Your loresmithing has been missed :) |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
769 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2010 : 17:14:37
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| indeed, how is the little one sleeping? |
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Menelvagor
Senior Scribe
Israel
352 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2010 : 22:07:36
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| Thanks, Steven. Those are actually great answers, of the kind of which I've hoped for. I can now work with them as I want in my game. And welcome back to the Keep. |
"Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly.
How much less them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation in the dust, are crushed before the moth?" - Eliphaz the Temanite, Job IV, 17-19.
"Yea, though he live a thousand years twice, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?" - Ecclesiastes VI, 6.
"There are no stupid questions – just a bunch of inquisitive idiots."
"Let's not call it 'hijacking'. Let's call it 'Thread Drift'." |
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
648 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2010 : 09:48:39
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Steven,
Did you ever receive my email asking questions about Calimport? I emailed it a while ago (through the "Email Poster" button I think), but seem to not have made a note of when, nor copied what I had asked in it. Should I attempt a re-ask in this scroll (ie. how limited is your time here at the 'keep anyway) if the answer is "No"? |
Lost for words? Find them in the Glossary of Phrases, Sayings & Words of the Realms
I am a sexy, shoeless god of war!
The Sellplague began, for all intents and purposes, in the dominions of the Corporation. Greed murdered Good Design, unraveling common sense in the cosmos and destroying her dominion. At the same time, Sales Fears and Warcraft Envy happened into alignment. This cataclysmic coincidence led to upheaval, shaking apart the primeval order, opening up holes in wallets, and reshaping everything... |
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1518 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2010 : 15:34:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Menelvagor
Just a few questions gathered quickly, since I'm hurrying. I'll add the rest later:
What secrets are there between Ilbaereth and Maerdrym that Tsarra couldn't hear?
Well, there's still some story elements in this answer that would trod upon NDA lore. Let's just say that Khelben was a master at rooting out old secrets that he could hold over people's heads long centuries after they'd felt safe such lore would never come to light.
quote:
What was the story of the widow at Lord Raventree's funeral?
Not much story, really--just an overly emotional display of grave site diving, clothes-rending, and such normally restricted to florid Gothic novels. 
quote:
Why wasn't Malchor Blackstaff in the end?
I'd discussed this early on with Ed and we agreed it wasn't quite the right fit for Malchor's destiny. It also closed him off to other potential stories AND would have had some not-small impact on his family. And since Bob Salvatore used the Harpells from time to time, we didn't want to tie Bob's hands by linking the Blackstaff to that bloodline/family.
Honestly, I would have liked to work more with Malchor, but in truth, he's not my character with which to play (as he was one of the original FR player characters, IIRC).
Besides, how much difference would people have seen if the Blackstaff simply became yet another dour, bearded white man? I wanted the shift from Khelben to Tsarra (or whomever) to be more of a sea change than simply a name change.
quote:
Why are fireflies considered a sign from Oacneth/Corellon?
Don't have access to FOMD right now, but I recall that Oacenth's body was never recovered but dissolved into a swarm of fireflies. Ever since, fireflies have been associated with that old coronal, just as dragons are loosely associated with the rulers of Cormyr.
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What is the prophecy mentioned by Elminster of the Three becoming Many?
One to which I've no immediate attribution or history, I'm afraid, other than its literal truth of the three-souled Tsarra-Khelben-Danthra casting the spell that would become of the reunion of Many (i.e. the revival of Rhymanthiin's peoples).
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What were the contortions placed on Ashemmi by Manshoon, and why?
Manshoon's use of a helm of alignment change and various other manipulations and shadow plays (early on) made Ashemmi a useful pawn versus many of Manshoon's enemies. In short, he did this simply to show Sememmon that Manshoon (not he) was in control of their fates.
quote:
Who were Araermal Phyalandrar's byblows? And is his name a refrence to 'philanderer'?
I don't have any names for his bastard children, nor do I have an exact count. More open lore for folks to develop on their own. And yes, I'll admit that my brain was too literal the day I named him, resulting in far too punnish and direct a name for old Araermal. 
Sorry I'm not filling in more blanks; due to the space and time (and the fact that I wrote all this 5+ years ago) of the climax of the novel, I was writing very quickly to tie up the book and tossing in things that felt right, even if I didn't always come up with tons of lore behind them.
Steven |
For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author
USA
1518 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2010 : 15:38:00
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quote:
Originally posted by sfdragon
Hi Steven, How's Life treating you these days??
Doing great, thanks for asking. Oscar's a happy little guy who's growing like a weed and seems to be on the verge of figuring out the mechanics of crawling soon. (Yes, I fear this development, honestly.)
How're you?
Steven |
For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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Questions for Steven Schend
