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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 04:35:29
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Thanks, Uzzy, for your thanks and for posting those links. But (ahem) I'm not Ed, and he's not me.
I like his beard as a handhold, but I'd look a little odd with it, and he'd look funny with my, ah, breastworks (though as guys never seem to be able to keep their hands off my two smooth ladies, he probably wouldn't mind having a handy pair of his own  ).
love,
THO |
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Uzzy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
618 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 04:41:44
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Ah yes. Such is one of the problems with posting at 4:40am, while watching the cricket. Tend to make rather silly mistakes. >.>
And Ed with breasts? Hehe.  |
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Kaladorm
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1176 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 09:23:05
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Thanks, Uzzy, for your thanks and for posting those links. But (ahem) I'm not Ed, and he's not me.
I like his beard as a handhold, but I'd look a little odd with it, and he'd look funny with my, ah, breastworks (though as guys never seem to be able to keep their hands off my two smooth ladies, he probably wouldn't mind having a handy pair of his own ).
love,
THO
The episode of Red Dwarf - Balance of Power springs to mind here  |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 10:58:08
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello, all!
Ed has returned from a delightful convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan (U-Con, which he highly recommends to gamers looking for a small, fun, well-run convention [and where he got to spend at least a little time with Eric Boyd and his family, Steven Schend and his family, Paul Kemp, Colin McComb, longtime Realms fan and current Castlemourn editor Brian Gute, and friends such as Tim and Calye “Chainmail Girl” Calhoun, as well as making lots of new ones), and tossed a Realmslore answer for Dargoth to me, to post forthwith.
Accordingly, here ’tis; Ed’s reply to this, from a June posting by Dargoth: “One of my players will be running a Illuskan (Northsmen) barbarian in my next campaign so I’ve been reading some of the material old 1ed/2ed material on them and have a few questions......
How closely do the Northsmen resemble the Viking/Danes? (They come across as being very "Vikingesque" in FR2)
Are Northsmen PCs and NPCs likely to be treated with a level of hostility in the Sword Coast region due to their history of raiding?
In FR2 Moonshae it says the Northsmen ussually raid the Folk Kingdoms in the Moonshae islands but they also launch raids against targets on the Sword Coast. Presumable modern fortified cities like Neverwinter, Luskan, Waterdeep and Baldurs Gate would be to powerful so where have the Northsmen raided in recent years?
Under the Gods of the Northsmen in FR2 it says that after a particularly successful battle the Northsmen have been known to sacrifice prisoners to Tempus. This would seem to conflict with Tempus code of conduct in F&P. Are those Northsmen who practicing Human sacrifice actually worshiping Gargos instead of Tempus? or Do the Northsmen worship a heretical version of Tempus dogma? (ie Heretic of the Faith)
Thanks in advance”
Ed replies:
The Northmen as published thus far do seem very Norse, but I’d caution any DM against making them close copies of the Vikings of lore (and especially of the movies, except for perhaps the 13TH WARRIOR; I say this for the usual reasons, of the pitfalls of extrapolating specifics drawn from real-world knowledge, and applying them to fictional people in the Realms).
Thumbnail description of the Northmen: a hardy people who farm and rear sheep and rothé on their stormswept islands, and who are hardened against wet and cold (they can die of exposure like anyone else, but succumb more slowly, under much harsher conditions; many swim or wash in arctic waters as a matter of course, and don’t catch chills as they bundle themselves into their furs (still wet), and trudge home. They tend to wear big, shaggy boots that extend up to the knee and are warmed by furred pelts wound around them and bound in place. The males are bearded and wear chainmail shirts when they go to war, they brawl with each other but VERY seldom draw steel or use magic on each other (those who do are apt to be cast out).
They raid for four reasons: in desperation (for supplies), to settle scores with mainlanders (kill one of them, and you’ll be paid back), to prove themselves (insecure or ridiculed younglings only), or to settle scores with each other: serious disagreements are settled with violence, but instead of fighting each other, on their own islands, the disgruntled parties go raiding and seek to outdo each other ashore, in dangerous feats, to settle the matter in the eyes of the others along on the raid (who will judge, assisted by some “wise old women” among the Northmen who can farscry what’s going on through hereditary powers of sorcery that seem keyed to four things: foretelling and influencing weather; healing by body contact (prolonged touch; they often go to bed with the wounded or sick, though please note this means getting naked under the furs together, NOT sex); calling and “gentling” fish and wild beasts (summoning them and keeping them from attacking, so they can be milked, marked, captured for taming, or slain); and farscrying.
Many “raids” engaged in by Northmen now and in the past aren’t attacks on people so much as they are woodcutting expeditions to plunder coastal forests (which they firmly believe belong to all people, not any one “owner”). Often mainlanders arrive to dispute their taking of timber, and they’ll certainly fight any such.
Armed Northmen who come ashore from longships and attack people will certainly be treated with hostility; individual Northmen wandering such ports as Luskan, Neverwinter, and Waterdeep won’t be unless they start attacking others - - but Northmen appearing in Port Llast or similar smaller coastal communities, holds, and inns will be assumed to be raiders, and treated as such, unless they can instantly show other intent (such as being with a traveling priest, and behaving in matters of dress and deportment like devout worshippers engaged in worship).
Traditionally the Northmen raided up and down the Sword Coast as far south as Mintarn and the Velen peninsula, but their raids have become few (and their raids on large cities a mere memory) over the last century or so. Hard weather and monster attacks have kept them too busy to raid and often too militarily weak to spare the warriors for raiding in recent decades. Also, the heretical cult of Tempus that sacrificed prisoners of war and preached that the ultimate glory and fulfillment of a true Northman was attained through prowess in raiding collapsed thirty or so summers ago, leaving only a few scattered believers (who, yes, would be Heretics of the Faith), no social support among the Northmen - - particularly among the women, who will typically refuse to dwell with, cook for, or engage in sex or marriage with someone who loudly wants to go raiding for such reasons - - and no surviving temples or truly organized priesthood (the few clerics are all “laws unto themselves” and denounce the other clerics, strengthening the belief among other Northmen [save a few lonely, power-seeking younglings] that they’re all crazy).
Please note that I’ve been speaking in gross generalizations here, describing a people in sweeping stereotypes and simplified blanket statements. Individuals, and particular families, among the Northmen do differ in lifestyles, beliefs, and behaviour from what I’ve said here (giving DMs freedom to make SOME Northmen as close to - - or as far from - - Vikings as they’d like). Myself, I always think of them as more akin to the Geats of Beowulf (for more, see my tale, and those penned by Jeff Grubb, Lynn Abbey, and Wolfgang Baur, too, in THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BEOWULF, CHAMPION OF MIDDLE EARTH [just published by Carroll & Graf, and edited by ex-TSR Book Department head Brian Thomsen]).
So saith Ed, a bearded, occasionally-chainmail-wearing guy who I don’t THINK has raided any coastal communities in his life. I’d better go ask.
(So if I don’t come back, you may have to assume something.) 
love to all,
THO
P.S. Great question, Faraer. I'll take it to Ed while I'm doing that asking.
Thanks Ed that will come in handy |
“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 - 23 Nov 2006 : 14:20:34
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Thanks, Uzzy, for your thanks and for posting those links. But (ahem) I'm not Ed, and he's not me.
I like his beard as a handhold, but I'd look a little odd with it, and he'd look funny with my, ah, breastworks (though as guys never seem to be able to keep their hands off my two smooth ladies, he probably wouldn't mind having a handy pair of his own ).
love,
THO
Yeah, but you know what they say... The reason men don't have breasts is because if we did, we'd never get anything done.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 16:42:29
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| Hear, Hear |
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Kalin Agrivar
Senior Scribe
Canada
956 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 17:17:28
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Thanks, Uzzy, for your thanks and for posting those links. But (ahem) I'm not Ed, and he's not me.
I like his beard as a handhold, but I'd look a little odd with it, and he'd look funny with my, ah, breastworks (though as guys never seem to be able to keep their hands off my two smooth ladies, he probably wouldn't mind having a handy pair of his own ).
love,
THO
  
ummm, I forgot what we are talking about... |
Kalin Xorell El'Agrivar
- High Mage of the Arcane Assembly
- Lore Keeper of the Vault of Ancestors
- 3rd Son of the Lord of the Stand |
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Tormtar
Acolyte
20 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 20:01:28
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| Must admit, probably only the Hooded One could distract a man from the cricket! |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 20:28:17
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| We were talking about how to gauge temperatures in a world without mercury thermometers. |
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Kazzaroth
Learned Scribe
Finland
104 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2006 : 20:35:13
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Well, I poke again THO and Ed regarding Talfirs. Generally what happened to them, what was Shadowking (and Talfirs culture) alike and was shadow magic similar to Shadow Magic presented in Tome of Magic (basically magic which draws directly from Shadow Plane) or was Talfir shadow magic related to Shar's Weave or just normal magic but Talfirs just used alot shadow schooled spells.
Plus then another inquiry regarding how seriously people would take monstrous humanoids (or races generally toughted 'monstrous') as important local figure heads like captain of militia, sherif or even as mayor or as lord (in mostly human populated area).
I ask because my goblin warrior ended up to become one Raven's Bluff lords (by bringing in rampaging lunatic Talos warmage who had blasted Raven's Bluff mayor's office and barracks and few other buildings) and haves officially land and all lord's rights so I wonder how often such occurs and what normal Faerunians think about it (if we do not take overly specific region opinion. I am sure this would not work in Cormyr examply). |
Edited by - Kazzaroth on 24 Nov 2006 11:21:45 |
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David Lázaro
Acolyte
Spain
3 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 00:04:07
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Thanks Ed and The Hooded One for such an inspiring piece of Silvaeren lore. There are many things in the Realms that I find fascinating, but currently (Ed's version of) Silverymoon is one of my dearest. I have some related questions that I hope you can answer when you find the time.
In relation to the illustration of Silverymoon by Sam Wood, I love it (FRCS, p. 173), it's a wonderful depiction of Silverymoon. I suppose that most of the trees are inhabited by elves and the underground dwellings are occupied by dwarves, gnomes and halflings, am I right?
I also remember from the time I read Elminster in Myth Drannor, that some of the elven houses there where real buildings and that old blooded elven houses tended to be very, uhm... imaginative with the architecture. Is it the same in Silverymoon?
With (around) 10,751 elves and 4,448 half-elves, Silverymoon is as much an elven city as it is human. How are Silvaeren elves different from their cousins? In the Silver Marches sourcebook there is information about a dwarven establishment, The Hammer and the Helm, but there is no information about elven establishments, is there any remarkable elven establishment in the city or with that many elves should I suppose that the other ones are mixed-race? And in a related note, is there a local elven nobility or even a local nobility at all? The only reference to a powerful and influential Silvaeren not related to the government that I could dig is Draevin Flarwood, from the Silverfall novel, who seems to be related to the Braeder Merchant Collective of Silverymoon (whatever that is).
Regarding the Argent Legion towers, I wonder if the local jail is also there, but I remember you writing that long term imprisonment is a modern concept not applicable to the Realms, and there are also cells for the use of the High Guard in the palace.
I have even more questions remaining (that idea of Alustiel's orgies seems to good to pass by, my Lady Hooded One *wink*), but I suppose that it is best to leave them for later. I must say (isn't it clear already?) that I love the Silver Marches, one of the best things 3rd Ed. realms has brought to our table, the other one being Power of Faerûn.
Also thanks to Uzzy for the links. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 01:34:56
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Hello again, fellow scribes. Ed reaches back to September 2005 this time, to address Gerath Hoan’s query: “But did I make a point of asking about Knighthoods in the Realms? How they were granted, what nations granted them, what duties were involved and what the common-folk thought of Knights in general? Is the romantic ideal of Chivalry alive and well in the Realms with many great adventurer Knights roaming the land?”
Ed replies:
Tiny nitpick first: “nation” means a people, although most modern-day Americans misuse the word to mean a country. Lots of countries in the Realms have knighthoods granted by rulers, and most of these same countries also have hereditary knighthoods AND courtesy titles for the offspring and siblings of nobles that can be easily be confused with knighthoods (e.g. are styled “sir”). Just as in the “Western” real world. The specifics of how one earns and keeps a knighthood, and what duties are involved, vary from place to place, time to time, and ruler to ruler, but in general “bestowed” knighthoods (in which a commoner is “created” a knight by a ruler, in some sort of ceremony) are rewards for service (usually military), and/or attempts to bind the loyalty of someone charismatic or skilled at arms or both, who resides in the realm (or whom the ruler wants to stick around). Some churches also confer knighthoods. Chivalric behaviour is associated with knighthoods in some places (Silverymoon, Cormyr, and to a lesser extent Tethyr and Impiltur, in particular), and public attitudes to knights depend on the personalities of the individual knights, and the duties or constraints placed upon them. In other words, if your local knight butchers anyone who disagrees with him, rapes every female within reach that he happens to like the look of, and seizes all property he can, then the locals may well hate and fear knights in general - - because the ruler is obviously allowing this knight to behave like this, so it follows that ALL knights are allowed to behave like this, and so all knights are a potential danger. Bards and minstrels keep the “general public belief” in chivalry and personal nobility of knightly character stronger than it should probably be (considering that the majority of knighthoods handed out these days seem to be personal rewards for aiding the ruler, that obligate the knight to go on serving - - and more knights may be well-fed, self-serving merchants and investors than daring combatants on any battlefield), and so in well-ruled, ordered lands, knights may be well regarded. Independent “knights errant” will usually cause a wary reaction among locals, however, because they may be seen as ‘free lances’ operating outside of the ruler’s law and authority, who are liable to commandeer food, remounts, bed and board, arms, armour, and even feminine companionship “as a knight” (and turn self-righteously violent if any of these are refused). Note that adventurers are very much seen as this sort of potential danger, unless travelling with a royal charter (in Cormyr), or are members of the Knights In Silver or Argent Legion (in Silverymoon), or accompanied by respected courtiers or clergy.
In short, your query applies to too great a variety of situations to give a neat, universal answer. Most Faerûnians WANT to believe in gallant, just, loyal, high-minded knights, yes. Most Faerûnians have to settle for local examples that are somewhat less.
So saith Ed. Now, as it happens, my main PC in Ed’s home campaign is a knight adventurer, with the title of a “Knight of Myth Drannor,” no less. Though we try to act for good, we are adventurers, with all of the tricks, jests, pranks, and suchlike that successful adventurers often resort to - - NOT high-nosed, shining-coat-of-plate knights. We’ve met a lot of those, mind you, and sometimes I’ve ridden them hard for my own pleasure - - but they do tend to be rather boring “straight-ahead, my-sword-speaks-for-me, I-have-this-hammer-so-all-problems-are-nails” sorts, as a general group.
love to all,
THO
P.S. to David Lázaro: you're welcome, and your followup questions are on their way to Ed. Re. elven architecture: correct. In my character's visits to Silverymoon, I never remember coming across any formal nobility in (or of) the city - - but as usual, let's wait for Ed to answer properly. |
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 03:06:44
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Tiny nitpick first: “nation” means a people, although most modern-day Americans misuse the word to mean a country.
Ed forgot to say that it was a Canadian inside joke
Today, our Prime minister was "forced" to define the Québec (a province of Canada that a large part of his population wants to become an independent country) as a "nation". |
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Macresto
Acolyte
Denmark
17 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 07:52:01
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I have always considered nations as meaning countries. Take the U.N. It is not the peoples union, but the countries union, as it is the governments of each participating state/country that select representatives. The U.N. decisions are only binding for states (yes they are, but as it is relatively safe to ignore decisions some countries almost always does) and not for people. People cannot raise issues in the U.N. - only governments (or the U.N. itself or NGO's).
What's interesting though is that the U.N. replaced something that in danish (my native tongue) was called The People's Union.
I would say, that I beg to differ with Ed on this - particularly when we talk real world as opposed to the Realms.
Any inputs ? |
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Arkhaedun
Senior Scribe
869 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 08:03:26
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| Lets try to keep this thread for questions for Ed, especially Realmslore, and limit the digressions into real world discussions, semantics, and etymology. Thanks all, I appreciate it. Carry on. |
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Macresto
Acolyte
Denmark
17 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 08:50:15
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| oh, I'm sorry. Didn't think straight there ! |
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Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1120 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 11:06:58
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| I want to thanks Ed and THO for the reply concerning the knights! One of my players is fascinated by this theme - yes, his character is the type of knight described by THO |
Dwarf, DM, husband, and proud of this! :P
twitter: @yuripeixoto
Facebook: yuri.peixoto |
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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 14:10:58
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Two more questions for Ed and Lady THO.
- When Waterdhavians look out east from their towers or mountainside homes, what do they see between the city and the Ardeep forest on the horizon? Is this area mostly clear-cut farm and pastureland?
- In "Elminster's Daughter" the when the Old Mage gives Caladnei the magic bracelet he tells her a command word "amalumystra". What language is this? What does it mean? |
Edited by - RodOdom on 24 Nov 2006 14:11:41 |
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Wandering_mage
Senior Scribe
688 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 15:35:10
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I would speak on a subject of humor for but a moment. While reading Elminster in Hell, which by the way is an excellent read and should get 5 stars , my son who is but learning about Santa Claus just now really pointed at Elminster on the cover and referred to Elminster as Santa Claus. And Elminster was fighting a snake and pumpkins (he refers to anything scary as pumpkin, thus the imps were pumpkins). I didn't have the heart to tell him that Elminster was not Santa Claus, however I almost wonder if mages around Faerun don't view this powerful mage as a Santa Claus of sorts at times. Thought you'd get a laugh from that Ed and THO.  |
Illum
The Wandering Mage |
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Kaladorm
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1176 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2006 : 15:37:25
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| That would make Lhaeo....Mrs Klaus? |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2006 : 00:56:52
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Oh, KALADORM! Wandering mage's notion is just fine, but . . .
Hi again, all. Ed returns with ANOTHER Gerath Hoan reply, this time to the question: “Also, you may remember some time ago Ed posted a lot of useful info on what Manshoon was up to, who his common allies were and some helpful roleplaying notes. Well I was wondering if the same thing could be done for Hesperdan? I haven't read Hand of Fire yet, so I could be missing much lore, but I would be interested to read what his situation was in the Zhentarim and which faction he supports (is he a Fzoul supporter now, or does he rue the end of the good old Manshoon days?). Who are his agents and allies and who are frequent antagonists of his? Any character traits to bring out in Roleplay sessions would also be appreciated. Also, in very vague terms (not too tied to either 3.x or 2nd Edition rules, what type of character and what sort of level would he be?”
Ed replies:
Hesperdan is a wizard of a high level and much experience. He has keen wits, shrewd judgement, a sense of humour, and a strong ruthless streak. He is a “backrooms” Zhentarim, has some sort of connection to Elminster (some scribes have speculated he may BE Elminster, in disguise), and beyond that, the answer to your query must be: no, not yet. I can’t reveal more of him (beyond what snippets of lore are unfolding in the current Knights of Myth Drannor trilogy), because his story hasn’t really been told yet, in print, and I reserve the right to do so. He’s much more fun as a mysterious figure than as a known quantity. Sorry.
So saith Ed. Whom you must admit knows how to keep readers and avid gamers interested for over thirty years, and so must be doing the “tease, slow reveal, speculate about mysteries” thing right. (I, too, enjoy practising the ‘tease, slow reveal, and speculate about mysteries’ technique, but that’s another story. )
love to all,
THO
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Delzounblood
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
578 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2006 : 14:16:52
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
(I, too, enjoy practising the ‘tease, slow reveal, and speculate about mysteries’ technique, but that’s another story. )
love to all,
THO
I just love your wicked humor
It makes one build up such a mental picture!
Delz
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I'm Back! |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2006 : 19:54:55
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Another question for the Creator:
Ed, what more can you tell us about daily life and society in Secomber? The "current clack," if you will. I could care less about character stats and mapped buildings, but lust to get the "feel" of unfolding life there.
Thanks! |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 25 Nov 2006 : 22:02:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Another question for the Creator:
Ed, what more can you tell us about daily life and society in Secomber? The "current clack," if you will. I could care less about character stats and mapped buildings, but lust to get the "feel" of unfolding life there.
That's exactly what Ed seems to specialize in (Realms-feel over stats). |
"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 - 26 Nov 2006 : 01:27:00
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Well met again, scribes. This time Ed slides just one question out of a recent barrage of related queries from WalkerNinja (the rest of which he WILL address, in time to come): “no matter how much I read, I keep getting the mental picture in my head that the Thar is a swamp. Can you give me a better description of that region?”
and answers it, thus:
Thar is a largely fallen kingdom of “beast-men” (ogres) north of the Moonsea. It has long been called “the great gray land of Thar” for its many gray (granite) rock cliffs, slopes of scree (loose stones, from gravel to boulders), gray-green lichen, and frequent (dawn and dusk) heavy mists, caused by all that exposed stone absorbing and then radiating heat so it ends up at a different temperature than the surrounding air.
Thar has a few bogs, but very few open-standing-water “swamps.” The best way to picture it is to think of Dartmoor in England, or high moors anywhere in the British Isles: frequent severe wet weather, few trees (and stunted ones, when they are seen), and few roads and habitations. Long-vanished glaciers sculpted Thar into rolling drumlin country (like Eastern Ontario), with endless rolling hills, and then cracked a lot of those hills so that landslides and long years of melt-freeze-melt cycles caused exposed cliffs.
Vegetation was always plentiful, and so were certain cold-tolerant reptiles (lizards and worms). These are very rare now, because the ogres hunted and devoured them to near-extinction, tearing apart (usually: hammering in wedges and breaking) many, many rocks in the process.
So Thar today is a wet, rather bleak hilly country roamed by monsters of all sorts, and traversed by well-armed caravans and mule-trains of rough-smelted metals moving between the Moonsea ports and the mines near Glister (primarily in the mountains north and east of that trade-moot).
Thar has occasional deep ravines (narrow, deep stream-gorges), and their relative shelter means they are crowded with shrubes, trees, and all manner of life. It’s also a land riddled with sinkholes, springs, natural underground caves and stream-tunnels, and “shelter crack” caves in the exposed cliffs, used as lairs by successive beasts—and outlaws from the Moonsea.
There are still ogres lurking about, too, though the “kingdom” of ogres was shattered long ago (notably in the battles with humans, in what are now known as the Cold Fields, near Scardale; the ogres had for many, many years raided the elves, who fought them off and then ignored them - - but when humans moved into the area, the ogres regarded them as a swarming, fast-multiplying threat, tried to exterminate them, and reaped a whirlwind for their pains).
Thar is not a place to expect to find civilized amenities of any kind, nor a place for any human to enter unless well-armed, garbed against windchill, and ready to fight and handle danger.
So saith Ed, creator of Thar. I recall my character spending an uncomfortable night lashed to a slaver’s branding-frame in Thar - - with the slaver’s underlings dicing for the sequence in which they’d enjoy her charms. Then she spent an uncomfortable morning half-suffocated under the bodies of dead slavers. And then she got rescued, and enjoyed sharing her charms. And then her rescuer turned out to be Azoun IV of Cormyr, and - - no, I’ll save that story for another time. (For a very good reason, so don’t wheedle, scribes.)
love to all,
THO
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 01:31:25
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Bah THO! BAH!
And now, my questions:
Hi Ed,
I waited for you to return from the con and then it got busy, so here’s my Jammer questions to start. Some of these are questions that have been asked on various boards over the years.
1) Let’s start with Selune. Now that Leira is dead, who has taken over the ward that covered part of Selune so that the people on the moon couldn’t be seen from Toril. Cyric maybe? Or Mystra? Speaking of, do the races in the enclave know that she is dead? Are they still afraid that Toril is going to invade?
2) With the changes to FR’s Material Plane, are there more solar systems within FR’s Prime? I know that you’ve said that the crystal shell still exists but now that FR has its own Material Plane, what is the purpose of the shell when no one can ever get to it since the Material Plane is infinite...
3) Why did Elminster set a gate/portal to Yellowstone 1894? That always interested me that that portal/gate went to that time period.
4) Are there any other celestial bodies in FR’s solar system besides those that are mentioned Realmspace and elsewhere? If so, care to detail? :)
5) What happened to the watchers that walked the shell/sphere during the Time of Troubles? Anything?
6) What types of goods are shipped between the different planets and their satellites? |
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 26 Nov 2006 01:40:53 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 01:36:47
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Now Kuje, I SAID there was a very good reason. You WILL get the story, when the time is right. Promise.
Great questions. I'll hurl them in Ed's direction posthaste.
Pray accept this blown kiss . . . 
love,
THO |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 02:06:10
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Grin,
Alright, we can wait... mutters. :)
Anyhow, I also said I had to pick a new NPC and so I did and the druids need some loving because they have been neglected in 1/2e lore compared to wizards, fighters, and clerics.
Willa O'Greensleeves of Silverglen in Silverymoon. I think Ed knows, from past NPC questions, on what types of info to share. Plus, those stinkin NDA's might get in the way, so I'll leave it up to him to expand what he can about her. :)
If she is NDA, and she might be, maybe Ed can supply a druid NPC that isn't NDA that hasn't seen print. There was only barely 100 stat'd in the old material. |
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 26 Nov 2006 02:09:29 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 26 Nov 2006 : 04:22:13
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Last one, for awhile. :)
Any chance you can give us some lore on the deities that Chauntea has had relationships with and the deities that she has battled and even killed? According to the two sentences in Faiths & Pantheons.
We know of Lathander, but those two sentences read that there are even other deities, which are now "dead", that she's had contact with.
Wow, that is so a hornet's nest, NDA question. :) |
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 26 Nov 2006 04:23:51 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2006 : 04:43:38
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Hi again, everyone. Ed’s answers this time are to one of a handful of queries from createvmind, posed back in early May (of this year): “Maybe I've overlooked it and someone else can point me in right direction, but does a form of "Rabies" exist in the Realms and if so how is it dealt with?”
Ed replies:
Yes, rabies is called “foamjaws” (“darrdartha” by elves) and can be completely cured by forcing victims to eat certain herbs (four are effective, two almost instantly; one of the other two can be boiled in water to provide an effective drinkable quaff when the victim can’t be made to injest in other ways).
Intelligent creatures who’ve had rabies in the past and get it again will recognize its onset (a “red fog” settles over the mind, affecting “around the edges” of sight); if they can eat some of the right herbs in time, they can drive off the effects completely.
The two most effective cures are the herbs “foambane” (which resembles the real-world dandelion, and is found from Amn south to the Tashalar, growing wild in rocky places) and the broad-and-very-dark-green-leafed “quarrada” (which grows abundantly in the wild of the Heartlands and north as far as about Triboar). Amthannas is the lichen-like “flat flower” (hugs rocks, not growing “up” off them) that can be boiled; the fourth known cure is the tiny orange cave mushroom known as “fire eyes” for its appearance.
Magical curing works on both the disease and the mental ravages it causes.
Foamjaws isn’t widespread among either humans or beasts, because 9 in 10 or so creatures are immune to it. They can, however, carry it and pass it on to others (which is why human lore insists orc and goblin bites “carry poison”).
So saith Ed, master of Faerûnian herblore (which should NOT be confused with real-world herblore).
love to all,
THO
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2006)
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