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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
 Posted - 01 May 2007 : 05:23:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Zandilar
quote:
My comment had far less to do with divine magical might than politico-religious influence. In Arabel, Daramos is the head of the Tymoran church (and wants to be so for all Faerûn). Arranging for the magical care of the lord of the city during her pregnancy, even if he does not himself provide the spells (which would never be public, anyway), is something he'd be salivating to do, because it gains him influence in both the church and in Cormyr. There's no way he wouldn't get himself involved, and Myrmeen would likely need to contact him to bring more powerful clerics to the city during her pregnancy. 'Only the best for my baby.'
So who would Daramos go to for these kinds of things? How many clerics of Tymora in Cormyr are powerful enough (and trustworthy enough) for the task? Are these clerics loyal to Daramos or to the Crown? And, while we're on the subject of Daramos, just how many clergy (in Cormyr) actually agree with Daramos's contention that he should be the pontiff of Tymora's faith realmswide? He obviously hasn't been too successful concidering that it's been 16 years since Tymora was in Arabel.
Daramos would use whatever networking was most efficient for him, which might mean going outside of Cormyr for help. There really aren't a great many high-level clerics anywhere, much less in Cormyr (although your earlier speculation that regenerate is too powerful a spell for the task at hand is largely correct), but any clerics contacted would be loyal to Tymora first. Loyalty to Daramos--and submission to his authority--would probably be part of the deal, but isn't an absolute requirement if it means there are no clerics available to do what he needs.
Daramos is not yet the Tymoran pontiff, and never will be, but Myrmeen is known and honored amongst many of the faithful of her church for her brave spirit and favorable attitude towards adventurers. Some suspect that it was her rulership, and not Daramos' leadership, that attracted the Smiling Lady to Arabel during the Time of Troubles in the first place.
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quote:
I can't share, because I don't know. Unfortunately, the progression of Realms-time and the absence from current-day Cormyr in fiction means that by the time we get back to the Forest Kingdom, Azoun V will be well past his toddling years, Myrmeen's child will probably be just past them as well, and the details of all will be glossed over in favor of 'getting to the action.'
I didn't think you would be able to.  Sorry if I'm coming across as too strident or demaning. 
I suppose the haziness is partly to let each individual DM come up with his or her own ideas about what's going on... Which doesn't help when you're trying to be "authentic". (Like, writing a well researched fan fiction as opposed to running an actual game... which is my situation and the reason for my queries. I love the Realms, but I can't bring myself to run a game there because of the overwhelming feeling I can't do them justice (which confuses me somewhat, since I'm fairly comfortable with the idea of setting fiction there...))
Actually, any haziness in this regard is due to the fact that Ed Greenwood is an overworked gent who would spend one of his annual novels in Cormyr if he could, but can't. When he gets back around to Cormyr every so often, there's not enough room for a recap of the missed time before he has to jump right into a whirlwind plot, sweeping the realm entire up with him. Of course, I'd volunteer to do the lifting whilst Ed's away in other corners, but these are His Characters (and more than in the 'Ed made up the Realms and everything in it' sort of way), and it's his voice that needs to shine through on them. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2007 : 00:23:27
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Well said, Garen. VERY well said.
Hi again, all.
To createvmind and Hawkfeather, Ed says: You’re very welcome.
To Garen Thal, he says: Stellar work as always. Beautifully done. Yes, I’ll augment and amplify the moment I have time. Just got hit with two copyedits in succession, a light augmentation-rewrite, a need to provide two novel outlines, and the same let’s-finish-Paizo-DRAGON-stuff-whirlwind you’re familiar with, so “time” may be a week or so away. However, I am still doggedly answering Realmslore queries.
He is indeed, and accordingly: last July, atlas689 asked this: “Dear THO and Ed,
It is stated many times in the realms that alchemy is the only art that is yet not fully discovered, does Ed have any plans of having this art being finally discovered as it would change much in the Realms, also to what extent has the art been developed as from my understanding very little has been discovered, Sweet water and light laughter till next we meet!
-Atlas”
Ed replies:
Oh, I’d not say that alchemy is the only art not yet fully discovered in the Realms. Most of the arts are still developing (and thus, by definition, not fully discovered).
Alchemists (and charlatans who pretend to be alchemists) are everywhere in Faerûn, concocting medicines, dyes, inks, anti-rust treatments, lotions, love potions, make-your-specific-body-part-grow-or-stiffen ointments, perfumes, smell and stain removers, and so on.
Some of these work, some don’t, some are dangerously poisonous, and all are incompletely understood (except for a few substances made and used for centuries by the elves, gnomes, halflings, and dwarves).
I don’t have any plans for alchemy to overnight “get fully discovered,” no.
I DO have plans for a slow but continuous advancement in what’s known, to provide maximum play opportunities in both my home campaign and for DMs and players using the published Realms, yes.
Alchemy is going to “be around” for centuries to come, not as dominant and effective as modern real-world chemistry, and not (as it was in the medieval world) preoccupied with a search for the Philosopher’s Stone or anything else that will turn substances to gold. Alchemy in the Realms is concerned with everything, from stuff you drink or rub on to make you slim or remove your warts, to stuff you eat to make sure you’ll get pregnant (or won’t get pregnant) tonight, to stuff you slap on manacles or jail-door locks to make them crumble to rust, to stuff you paint on manacles and jail-door locks to make them stay unaffected when some of that other stuff gets slapped on them.
There are ongoing searches for new poisons, and antidotes, and coins to be made by folk who have them (such as the festhall dancer in Calimport famous for performing nude with many deadly-poisonous scorpions and snakes that bite or sting her repeatedly, to her evident pleasure rather than pain, and doing her no harm - - and the sneak-thieves who, equipped with the same alchemical quaffs as the dancer, freely steal valuables from venomous-serpent and scorpion-guarded coffers).
In short, alchemy is a “living,” growing field that should offer many interesting play opportunities for interested DMs and players in the Realms. In fact, if THO isn’t careful in the next little while, she - - but no, that would be telling . . .
So saith Ed. That’s all right, dear. As always, I vastly prefer the showing to the telling. 
love to all,
THO
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2007 : 01:15:09
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Heya,
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
Daramos would use whatever networking was most efficient for him, which might mean going outside of Cormyr for help. There really aren't a great many high-level clerics anywhere, much less in Cormyr (although your earlier speculation that regenerate is too powerful a spell for the task at hand is largely correct), but any clerics contacted would be loyal to Tymora first. Loyalty to Daramos--and submission to his authority--would probably be part of the deal, but isn't an absolute requirement if it means there are no clerics available to do what he needs.
Actually my comment about Regenerate was more along the lines of, I can't see how any spell of lesser power could keep someone fertile. The natural cycle of things has the reproductive organs deteriorate in women, to the point of menopause - which is where the delicate balance of chemicals required to keep a woman ovulating and ready for pregnancy is put too far out of wack. Something that stops or reverses this process is at least on the order of growing a severed hand back - in fact, it's a more complicated task... With growing a hand back, you only need be worried with muscle tissue, sinew, tendons, nerves, and bone... With keeping a womb viable, you need viable eggs in the ovaries, to make sure various glands are still producing chemicals (and not all are located in or around the reproductive organs - an important one is the piturity gland in the brain), and you need to be concerned with the quality of the muscle tissue in the womb, blood flow, whether or not the fallopian tubes are obstructed, whether there are cysts on the ovaries, and a whole host of other things. You need Regenerate to grow a hand back, so you should, at the very least, need something of similar power to keep a womb viable given the enormity of the task.
It also seems that Myrmeen is older (again!) than I thought, given her age in the Heroes' Lorebook is given as "mid-40s" - which means she was that age somewhere between 1358 DR (Time of Troubles) and 1372 DR (Game Date with the release of 3rd Edition). Further detective work reveals the book was published before Prince of Lies, which occured in 1368 or so DR - which would put Myrmeen well into her late 40s, or early 50s by now.
Because of her age, and without deific interference, I would think she must have planned for this, because she would have had to have had this spell cast on her before her fling with Vangerdahast, in order to make sure that she did become pregnant.
Given all this, I think the simplest explanation would be deific interference.
quote:
Daramos is not yet the Tymoran pontiff, and never will be, but Myrmeen is known and honored amongst many of the faithful of her church for her brave spirit and favorable attitude towards adventurers. Some suspect that it was her rulership, and not Daramos' leadership, that attracted the Smiling Lady to Arabel during the Time of Troubles in the first place.
I like that thought. I am curious about how Myrmeen "converted" from the worship of Mielikki to the worship of Tymora (given I believe Ed has mentioned at one point that there was some kind of agreement about Myrmeen between the two goddesses - I could be misremembering, though), but I have a feeling there's an NDA or the like lurking about...
In a related thought that just struck me - during the Time of Troubles, some of the gods had to possess people in order to have form... was this the case with Tymora? And if so, who was, and what ever happened to, her mortal host? (Ed? *smiles winningly*)
quote:
Actually, any haziness in this regard is due to the fact that Ed Greenwood is an overworked gent who would spend one of his annual novels in Cormyr if he could, but can't. When he gets back around to Cormyr every so often, there's not enough room for a recap of the missed time before he has to jump right into a whirlwind plot, sweeping the realm entire up with him. Of course, I'd volunteer to do the lifting whilst Ed's away in other corners, but these are His Characters (and more than in the 'Ed made up the Realms and everything in it' sort of way), and it's his voice that needs to shine through on them.
It is a bit much to ask of a single person. *nods* And I do agree wholeheartedly on the last bit of your quote. |
Zandilar
~amor vincit omnia~
~audaces fortuna iuvat~
As the spell ends, you look up into the sky to see the sun blazing overhead like noon in a desert. Then something else in the sky catches your attention. Turning your gaze, you see a tawny furred kitten bounding across the sky towards the new sun. Her eyes glint a mischevious green as she pounces on it as if it were nothing but a colossal ball of golden yarn. With quick strokes of her paws, it is batted across the sky, back and forth. Then with a wink the kitten and the sun disappear, leaving the citizens of Elversult gazing up with amazed expressions that quickly turn into chortles and mirth.
The Sunlord left Elversult the same day in humilitation, and was never heard from again. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2007 : 01:50:46
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Hi again. Just a quick note to pass on some jots'n'tittles from Ed: yes, Myrmeen was definitely pregnant at the end of ELMINSTER'S DAUGHTER. Yes, she's older than you think. And yes, there are NDAs lurking here, particularly around Krystin. Sorry. However, Ed WILL answer you as best he can. The moment he has fifteen minutes at the keyboard to call his own (he just did an unexpected lore-rescue which he can't tell me anything about, with his LAST fifteen minutes, and now insists on eating supper). 
Insatiable, these men . . . 
love,
THO |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2007 : 01:57:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
quote:
Originally posted by Jamallo Kreen
I have finally been able to begin reading Shadows of Doom, and almost immediately I had a question: was Savras confined in the Scepter during the ToT, or was he briefly freed, since his imprisonment was the doing of a god, not of Ao? Savras wasn't the only demi-god who was imprisoned in Faerun before the ToT began (at least according to the Age of Worms adaptation), so if Savras was freed briefly, were the others also free?
Savras' imprisonment occurred before Azuth ascended to godhood, and was unaffected by the beginning of the Time of Troubles.
Merci!
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2007 : 03:02:54
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Too many quotes... must cut down.
Zandilar, the regenerate spell is one that has broad and varied applications (restoring limbs, destroyed organs, or shattered bones), and is a one-time fix. The preservation of a child in the womb of a woman 'too old to be pregnant' (which is, from a purely biological standpoint, essentially what Myrmeen is) is an ongoing process, and one which would take numerous different spells, possibly on the order of several times a tenday or even daily, over the course of the pregnancy. Spells that have more specific applications are usually lower in general power (translating to a lower spell level), as are those that need constant renewal in order to be effective (regenerate isn't worth a 7th-level slot if you need to cast it 2d10 times rather than wait 2d10 rounds to grow a hand back). Regenerate (and other one-shot spells) are quick, permanent fixes, not ongoing treatment, which is what these situations require.
quote:
It also seems that Myrmeen is older (again!) than I thought, given her age in the Heroes' Lorebook is given as "mid-40s" - which means she was that age somewhere between 1358 DR (Time of Troubles) and 1372 DR (Game Date with the release of 3rd Edition). Further detective work reveals the book was published before Prince of Lies, which occured in 1368 or so DR - which would put Myrmeen well into her late 40s, or early 50s by now.
Myrmeen has a fourteen-year-old daughter in Night Parade (1358DR) that was born when she herself was 20. This places her year of birth at 1324DR (roughly; her birth month could push it off either way by a year). When her child is/was born, Myrmeen is/was just about 50 (again, depending on months, could be off by a year).
Over the last 15 years or so (out here, in the World), there have been a growing number of women reported to have carried children to term in their 60s, with the assistance of medical technology. Magic is more reliable than medicine in the Realms, so the delivery of a child by a 50-year-old woman shouldn't be too surprising. Once she got pregnant, there were all manner of means to ensure that Myrmeen carried to term. It's the pregnancy itself that's unlikely...
quote:
Because of her age, and without deific interference, I would think she must have planned for this, because she would have had to have had this spell cast on her before her fling with Vangerdahast, in order to make sure that she did become pregnant.
Given all this, I think the simplest explanation would be deific interference.
The simplest explanation, sure. But not the only one.
It's possible that menopause hadn't yet occurred for Myrmeen. Or that she'd engaged in some sort of magical precaution to preserve her reproductive organs 'just in case' (there are other women in the Realms who have extended their childbearing years through magic). It's also entirely possible that whatever menopausal changes had already occurred in her system were reversed by the regenerate spell that was required to restore her severed arm in 1371. Exactly why she wound up pregnant isn't something we'll know for sure until things come out in print that tell us (although speculation will, I'm sure, abound). What we do know is that she became pregnant. If the gods didn't arrange or encourage it, they certainly allowed for it to happen.
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2007 : 00:05:10
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Hello again, all. Back in November, createvmind posted: “Hello Ed, While I wait on troll reply I shall shift slightly north to the Lizard Marsh and poke about there seeking anything that the lizard men could possibly trade to humans, or better yet humans would want within the marsh and could trade peacefully for. From FRCS it seems there may have recently been a lizard man of some potential, would their gods dogma cause them to simply continue trying to prey on caravans or would they possibly be making strides in other non-violent relations.
My NPC has found a possible doompit within the (I assume, hilly plains), between Trollbark Forest and Lizard Marsh, seeks to establish a haven which may potentially grow, wants to stay obviously closer to the Marsh and set up relations with lizard folk from a position of strength but not seeking to dominate lizard -men. Wishes the marsh to be somewhat of a buffer while providing water- wells? several miles from Marsh he believes he can dig down and find good water. These are various relating to my story and any feedback is helpful to anything a adventurer would come across thats not on map anywhere in that area and all the way to the coast.
Thanks as always”
Ed now replies:
Humans in the area would crave lots of marsh plants for cooking and alchemical uses, plus eels and some of the savory clam-like swamp mollusks for their dining tables. And, yes, lizardfolk will trade (warily) with other races, if not threatened and if they can do such trading in ways that don’t require leaving the vicinity of the marsh (they feel very vulnerable away from easy reach of the waters), and don’t require a lot of speech and long bargaining. Lizard folk are NOT unthinkingly, unobservantly stupid; within their home area, they know the land and natural cycles very well, and tend to be cunning. Lizardfolk can set snares, flush out prey (working in well-organized hunting bands), are stealthy foragers, and often prepare “hideouts” in overgrown wilderness areas, to keep themselves hidden from the eyes of humans and others who may offer them harm. They are particularly learned in what swamp plants can be crushed and smeared on themselves and on undergrowth they must pass through, to entirely baffle anything trying to track or identify them by scent.
Finding fresh, clean drinkable water near a marsh isn’t always easy. It has to do with groundwater flows, not necessarily with distance. However, if one doesn’t mind drinking brownish, muck-tasting but perfectly healthy water, there are herbs that can be dropped into containers of water to “kill the squigglies” and make the water safe to drink, and also some forest plants that can be boiled, and the resulting “juice” added to marsh water to precipitate all the floating brown sediment out of the water AND alter its taste to something less strong. Other tissanes (teas) of rose petals and other floral petals can then be added to the water to make it quite pleasant to taste (selling “sweet” waters in villages along trade-routes is a widespread, sustaining industry across the Realms, because folk who know how to do it, who can freely gather the necessary plants, can do it with only pots, a fire, something to stir it with, and vessels to hold the result.
If your NPC treats the lizard folk well and fairly, showing their religious observances respect and avoiding making them overly suspicious of possible treachery (if the NPC has allies working with him/her, he/she should let the lizard folk see them approach; they will turn hostile if they think they are being surrounded, or one group are doing them ill while another distracts them), he/she should be able to develop a truce, then a working trading relationship, and eventually trust and closer alliances. He/she should avoid doing anything that might be viewed as trying to harm the marsh, cut it back, clear a way through it, or make it smaller, and should not act in a hostile manner if he/she finds the lizard folk watching him/her continuously or closely; it is their “way” to keep watch over neighbours. Just in case.
So saith Ed. Who once roleplayed two tall, dignified, nigh-silent lizard folk all evening, and drove Torm nuts. Whenever he tried to sneak away or steal something, he’d find their snouts right in his way, as they watched him like hawks. Making the deep-throat rumbling that we were later told was lizard folk chuckling.
Yes, they silently watched when we made love. Chuckled then, too.
love to all,
THO
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2007 : 00:12:02
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Wow, came to add a question and find one of my more crucial questions answered, perfect timing too, thank you.
What was recently floating through my head was if you could share any info on Crossroads and Gaurdians if possible, specifically looking if you actually have Crossroads in Reaching Woods or any land region, and are they always above ground? |
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2007 : 00:46:36
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Heya,
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
Zandilar, the regenerate spell is one that has broad and varied applications (restoring limbs, destroyed organs, or shattered bones), and is a one-time fix. The preservation of a child in the womb of a woman 'too old to be pregnant' (which is, from a purely biological standpoint, essentially what Myrmeen is) is an ongoing process, and one which would take numerous different spells, possibly on the order of several times a tenday or even daily, over the course of the pregnancy.
That's why I was thinking the spells would have to be kind of equivelant, since the latter would involve some kind of permanency kind of aspect (or at least a long term duration)... However, if the spell can be repeatedly cast, has only one purpose (ie: only applies to female reproductive organs of the human species), then I conceed that it could concievably be lower level (pun not intended!).
quote:
Myrmeen has a fourteen-year-old daughter in Night Parade (1358DR) that was born when she herself was 20. This places her year of birth at 1324DR (roughly; her birth month could push it off either way by a year). When her child is/was born, Myrmeen is/was just about 50 (again, depending on months, could be off by a year).
Yep, that's what I'd figured her out to be - taking "mid-40s" to mean exactly 45, then adding 6 years (assuming the same game year as Prince of Lies for Heroes' Lorebook) - which is 51... but that's in the current game year.
My modern instincts are aghast that any woman would try to have a child so old (I was even rather concerned when one of my friends had one at 40 - and she still wants another!)... But magic is the great cure-all, and with it, anything's possible. I probably just should have left it there instead of worrying it about in my head so much.
quote:
Over the last 15 years or so (out here, in the World), there have been a growing number of women reported to have carried children to term in their 60s, with the assistance of medical technology. Magic is more reliable than medicine in the Realms, so the delivery of a child by a 50-year-old woman shouldn't be too surprising. Once she got pregnant, there were all manner of means to ensure that Myrmeen carried to term. It's the pregnancy itself that's unlikely...
They are exceptions, there's always been exceptions, and there always will be exceptions (at both ends of the age scale). There are just some things modern medicine can't correct (problems aging itself causes, since we can't reverse aging), and probably never will (unless we crack the secrets of immortality).
Speaking of immortality, though, another idea I had was that Myrmeen has been sipping a potion of longevity for a while (that's one explanation for why she looks the same as she always did, and it also neatly solves the "too old to have a kid" dilemma without any extraordinary measures)... Also, anything involving chance is sure to go in Myrmeen's favour concidering her patron deity.
quote:
What we do know is that she became pregnant. If the gods didn't arrange or encourage it, they certainly allowed for it to happen.
And that, as they say, is basically it. When all is said and done, it happened.  |
Zandilar
~amor vincit omnia~
~audaces fortuna iuvat~
As the spell ends, you look up into the sky to see the sun blazing overhead like noon in a desert. Then something else in the sky catches your attention. Turning your gaze, you see a tawny furred kitten bounding across the sky towards the new sun. Her eyes glint a mischevious green as she pounces on it as if it were nothing but a colossal ball of golden yarn. With quick strokes of her paws, it is batted across the sky, back and forth. Then with a wink the kitten and the sun disappear, leaving the citizens of Elversult gazing up with amazed expressions that quickly turn into chortles and mirth.
The Sunlord left Elversult the same day in humilitation, and was never heard from again. |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 03 May 2007 : 06:43:14
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I was wondering if Ed or the lovely Hooded one might have any knowledge on the topic of this scrolls subject matter
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9299 |
“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 - 04 May 2007 : 01:51:33
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Hello again, fellow scribes!
A year and a few days ago, Dargoth posted: “I’ve got another question, this time with regard to the Floshin Elven family, with regard to their family tree (Most of my info gleaned from the Daggerford entry of the North).
Elorfindar had a Sun Elf wife (Now deceased) who gave him 4 children: Elorshin (Male Cleric of Tyr), Shalendra (Female Cavalier), Filvendor (Male Wizard/Rogue/Fighter) and Darfin (Male Fighter/Wizard)
Out of the 4 children only Filvendor has had children (that we know of): Kelson Darkreader (with a Human Woman) and Filarion (with a Moon Elf female).
We also have Kira "Floshin" who is Elorfindars great granddaughter. The North sourcebook doesn’t say who her parents and grandparents are, though, only that she has Sun and Moon Elf blood in her.
Can you expand on the information given in The North, have any of Elorfindars other sons and daughter had children? How old are the members of the family? (The North only provides an age for Kelson)
Thanks in advance
PS I ask because one of my players in my Daggerford/Waterdeep campaign wants to run a Moon Elf so Ive decided to make him part of the Floshin family”
Ed replies:
The Floshins weren’t my creation, so I had to do a lot of digging with other writers and editors, to try to answer you - - only to ultimately come up empty. (That’s the reason for the long delay, and I’m sorry that it quite likely comes far too late for your campaign use. Unfortunately, you happened to pick something I had to confer with others about.) So as I came up with nothing, what follows IS my creation:
Sir Elorfindar Floshin (NG male gold elf F12/Wiz15) has had four wives and scores of lovers (most of them human, a few half-elven, and a handful of moon elven - - though none from among his household; he considers such behaviour unseemly and an inevitable cause of discord). He took lovers only after the death of his beloved Shalamrae, a CG gold elf Wiz12 who was “the love of his life” and died tragically in 1186 DR, struck to ashes in a lightning storm. Throughout all of his unions, Elorfindar has never had a lover while married.
After Shalamrae, he took three human wives, all from the human nobility of Waterdeep:
Moaril Lanngolyn (married 1206 DR, died 1236 DR; blown apart in a magical explosion involving an enchanted Lanngolyn family heirloom necklace): no children.
Khryskrarra Manthar (married 1242 DR, died 1277 DR in childbirth; a malformed female who was stillborn; Elorfindar paid a temple for her raising, but it failed): three children:
1. Rilkra Floshin (1244 DR - 1279 DR); female, adventuress, had her mother’s ankle-length, flowing black hair, took as partners three females in succession (each was killed while adventuring); died childless, devoured by monsters whilst adventuring.
2. Orandel “the Bard of Daggerford” Floshin (1248 DR - 1299 DR); a handsome, wenching musician of impish humor, great good looks, and questionable morals; castrated and slain by an outraged husband who promptly fled the area, never to be seen again. Orandel had no children, though not for lack of trying.
3. Alsandra Floshin (1250 DR - 1314 DR; devoured by wolves during a fierce winter blizzard); a plain, smart cabinet-maker and carver, who married locally and happily thrice, outliving two of her husbands, but had no children [she was probably barren]. Her husbands were all human: Andrar Tarthilt (honest, kindly carpenter; married Alsandra in 1287 DR, died 1289 DR when a wagon of lamp oil overturned atop him and caught fire); Boruldyn Rathgeld (a darkly handsome textiles trader and shopkeeper; married Alsandra 1299 DR and died in 1304 DR, lost at sea when the merchant caravel “Dar’s Fortune” foundered in a storm); Maskarl Deldreir (witty but rather ugly alchemist; maker and seller of ointments, physics, and perfumes; married Alsandra in 1306 DR, left the Daggerford area for Amn after her death, and died in Athkatla of a fever in 1328 DR).
Tannatha Raventree (married 1296 DR, died 1329 DR, vaporized in a magical duel between two feuding human adventurer-mages who just happened to encounter each other and do battle in her garden; one wizard was also blasted to nothingness, and the other teleported away): two children:
1. Darnath “Florraven” (1297 DR - 1347 DR); male, a dashing, energetic trader in Amn, who died of a fever after having been weakened by three poisonings arranged by different rival traders. Darnath was a fierce competitor who made many foes and lived hard; he may well have unknown and unacknowledged descendants in cities up and down the Sword Coast. He married a wealthy young widow of Athkatla, Tanthla Lorridar, in 1341 DR; she died of a fever in 1355 DR. They had one daughter, Asmrarra, born in 1342 DR, who was headstrong and had a wild temper, used Lorridar as her surname, fought fiercely with her mother and everyone else, and departed for “the Sea of Fallen Stars and true freedom” in 1354 DR, never to be seen again (her fate is unknown).
2. Esmaera Floshin (1306 DR - ? ); a quiet, nature-loving wanderer and weaver who “caught a sudden fire of restlessness” and joined the Harpers, departing the Sword Coast lands with some traveling Harper agents, bound for parts unknown. Her fate is not known, but Elorfindar doubts she’s still alive (she was briefly in Berdusk, was sent on a mission, and never returned; the mission is still unaccomplished).
Elorfindar has had some sixty lovers since Tannatha’s death, most of them brief liaisons that didn’t last two summers.
He is currently believed to have two lovers, who know of each other and are friends: Pelmarra Tulshoond, a buxom, motherly 46-year-old Calishite female human Exp6 weaver and embroiderer, who now lives with him but retains ownership of her own clothing-for-females business in Daggerford; and Cyrassla (“SIGH-rass-lah”) Eluandrar, a 446-year old female moon elf Ranger9/Wiz4, a much-traveled, hard-bitten and acrobatic Harper agent who makes Elorfindar “feel young again, like the green leaves of spring, and wild to leap and chase and, yes, ride her hard - - whereas Pelmarra is my comforting daily companion, at my side and steadfast, a hostess and a lifemate.”
So saith Ed. Who went straight on to detail Elorfindar’s four children and THEIR offspring, which for reasons of post length, now, and knowing I’ll not receive any Realmslore from him tomorrow (he remains very busy, and sometimes “real life” steps in and hurls aside all of our plans), I’ve chopped to save until tomorrow.
Until then,
love to all,
THO
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2007 : 02:01:27
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Nice lore. Sweet!
Umm, createvmind, am I missing a rulebook? Or just suffering a brain blank?
I know what a crossroads is, and guardians are, but what are Crossroads and Guardians? These sound like monsters or magic in the rules, or special rules, even, and I can't for the life of me remember reading or hearing about them before. 
?
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AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2007 : 02:03:41
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Ed,
You frikkan roxor sir. |
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AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2007 : 02:04:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Nice lore. Sweet!
Umm, createvmind, am I missing a rulebook? Or just suffering a brain blank?
I know what a crossroads is, and guardians are, but what are Crossroads and Guardians? These sound like monsters or magic in the rules, or special rules, even, and I can't for the life of me remember reading or hearing about them before.
?
Crossroads were coverd in Magic of Faerun sir. |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2007 : 03:52:02
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| Crossroads and Backroads are in Magic of Faerun pg 44. |
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AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 04 May 2007 : 16:44:32
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Ed & THO,
I hope I'm not asking something that you have already answered. Do most folks in Waterdeep heat with wood or coal?
Thanks |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2007 : 01:47:46
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Well met again, all.
AlorinDawn, I believe Ed has already answered that (wood wins over coal, but there's camel-dung-patties in desert regions, and some other fuels). I'll check (unless, of course, Kuje or The Sage or dearest Woolly beat me to it [bat lashes, shimmy, purr, bat lashes again]).
In the meantime, I present the second part of Ed’s reply to Dargoth regarding the ages and relationships of the Floshin elven family of Daggerford. This time, Ed deals with the younger generations:
Elorfindar’s four fullblood children, from his six-century-long union with Shalamrae, are all still alive and now reside in the Daggerford area. They are:
Darfin Longwalker Floshin (LG male gold elf F7/Wiz6): eldest child (heir) of Elorfindar and Shalamrae. A serious, quiet, “duty first” sort, Darfin was born in 876 DR, and has never had a wife nor children. In the adventuring days of his youth, he had several lovers (all gold elf females), but has lived alone for centuries. He is a wary guardian of his father’s estate and the lands all around - - not just patrolling and military guardianship, but constant scrutiny of the cycles of living things, the health of the verdant land, and how folk of Daggerford and the farms around can best live in harmony with it (which has often brought him into minor conflict with humans over the size of their herds, burning brush to clear land, improper irrigation, and the like).
Elorshin Floshin (NG male gold elf Cleric of Tyr 6/Wiz7): second child of Elorfindar and Shalamrae, and from his earliest days “different” (a restless wanderer, more interested in the affairs of humans than of elves). Now dedicated wholly to Tyr and “seeing justice rule all things,” Elorshin was born in 976 DR and spent much of his youth exploring human cities all over Faerûn. He took many lovers, most of them half-elves and humans (a handful of males during youthful experimentation, but all the others female), during this time, and may well have had offspring, but knows of none. He has the widest knowledge of Faerûn of anyone in the Daggerford area, and so is apt to be the most tolerant, far-seeing, and “fair” in his views of all local folk.
Shalendra “Dare-all” Floshin (LG female gold elf F7 Cavalier): third child of Elorfindar and Shalamrae, born in 1099 DR and from her earliest days fascinated by human nobility, chivalry, and the honor of elves; she took to adventuring, until she met and married (in 1199 DR) Maeriloumel Torandrar, a gold elf warrior much her elder, who’d retired from adventuring and dwelt in the High Forest verges north of Secomber.
They had a son, Alorel Torandrar (named for Maeriloumel’s grandsire) in 1229 DR, but Maeriloumel was slain (transformed into a beast and then blasted apart and burned) while fighting evil human adventurer-mages near his home in the spring of 1244 DR.
Alorel, maddened by grief, set off into the High Forest determined to hunt down and destroy his father’s killers. He soon ran into worse foes, and lost an arm. It and most of his gear was soon found by other elves, who brought them back to Shalendra. Grieving, she abandoned the Torandrar forest home and lost herself in the bustle of Waterdeep, and the strivings, splendors, and ambitions of humans for a century, ere returning to the Daggerford area.
In the meantime, the maimed Alorel met and was nursed back to health by Nynendra Mrauthae, a moon elf of a poor family dwelling in the forests of the Delimbiyr valley. They wed in 1265 DR and had two daughters, Kiratha in 1279 DR and Rilathra in 1282 DR.
Alorel has never recovered from his father’s slaying, and has become bitter and brooding, given to killing rages and to suddenly storming off on long quests to seek the humans who slew his father (so far as is known, he has never found them - - but he has made a lot of enemies and killed a lot of other human wizards, down the years). Alorel often beat his family and left them for dead, and Kiratha fled from him in the summer of 1349 DR. He promptly set about hunting her down, found her, and seemed on the verge of slaying her - - but her mother Nynendra, who’d stealthily followed him, confronted Alorel and fought him, allowing Kiratha to escape. Alorel defeated Nynendra, leaving her for dead, but had in turn been sorely wounded by her, and wandered off into the High Forest screaming that he would “Avenge Maeriloumel this time!” (He has not been seen since).
Unbeknownst to her family, Rilathra, the silent and darkly beautiful second daughter of Alorel and Nynendra, had stealthily followed her mother. She rescued the wounded Nynendra as soon as Alorel was out of sight, nursed her back to health, and the two of them then departed the Sword Coast lands, heading east for Hullack Forest in Cormyr, or beyond. Word of their fates and whereabouts has not come to Daggerford.
Kiratha, or “Kira” as she now prefers to be known, knew of her heritage from her parents. Heartbroken at what she believed was the death of her mother at the hands of her mad father, she wandered the Sword Coast lands for a time, falling in with human caravans as a guard (initially because the guards thereof were smitten with her looks and wanted her to share their beds) and exploring some of the human-dominated cities. There she found a new life, joining a few adventuring bands and assisting some human wizards before she tired of the dishonesty, violence, and grasping ambitions of most adventurers - - and came to Daggerford (as a LG female elf Wiz5) seeking her kin.
Filvendor (CG male gold elf F3/Rogue4/Wiz4): fourth child of Elorfindar and Shalamrae, born in 1129 DR and the most tolerant and easy-going of the four. For a time, he seemed bent on traveling even more widely than his elder brother Elorshin, but kept falling in love and interrupting his lackadaisical adventuring ways to settle down and raise a family.
His first bride (the “human woodsman’s daughter” referred to in THE NORTH) was Ylasmrae Darktreader (1276 DR - 1320 DR); Filvendor married her in 1299 DR, much against Elorfindar’s wishes. They had only one child, Kelson, and styled him with his mother’s surname in a (futile) effort to please Elorfindar.
This is the Kelson Darktreader (NG half-elf male Ranger7); his age is now whatever it works out to be with the dating in your campaign, given that he is 73 years old at the time THE NORTH is set. He remains master of the hunt for the Duke of Daggerford (unless events dictate otherwise in your campaign), and is THE expert on local sylvan terrain and its flora and fauna details, increasingly consulted (and valued) by Darfin.
Elorfindar likes Kelson, and behaves warmly towards him, but doesn’t know how to become closer to him - - and Kelson (not wanting to anger his father, and unable to properly ‘read’ Filvendor’s thoughts and feelings in the matter) doesn’t know how to become closer to Elorfindar. (For his part, Filvendor was deeply hurt by his father’s treatment of both of his wives, yet wants to patch things up with his father - - but isn’t sure if his father’s warmth towards Kelson is an attempt to bond with his grandson and then withdraw from having anything to do with Filvendor.)
Ylasmrae Darktreader was crippled by a series of internal afflictions (seizures, wasting diseases, and constantly breaking bones, that kept recurring despite being “utterly banished” repeatedly by magical healings), and had become a pitiful shell, a still-beautiful near-skeleton wracked by constant physical suffering, almost a decade before she died. In her later years, she still craved lovemaking with Filvendor and wanted to share herself with him, yet screamed with pain whenever they made love, no matter how gentle and careful he was (and her obvious pain made him very reluctant to even embrace her) and took to gagging herself to try not to alarm the neighbours.
Filvendor spent most of the riches he’d amassed from his adventuring on trying to magically restore Ylasmrae to life and health, but repeated efforts failed. After a year, he turned his back on his wife’s tomb and took up with a moon elf chambermaid of his father’s household, the beautiful and spirited Elsarassa Cerinlar (who had wanted to become Elorfindar’s lover, and had been hurt by his kind but firm rejections).
Filvendor and Elsarassa married in 1322 DR, when Elsarassa’s pregnancy became obvious (very much to Elorfindar’s displeasure). Their son, Filarion “Filvendorson” (so named by Filvendor to spite his father) was born in the last few days of that year.
Elsarassa Cerinlar (1126 DR - 1349 DR) was a passionate, lusty, energetic extrovert, fun-loving and pranksome in a kindly, whimsical way. She loved dancing and new clothes and flirting and playacting - - and Daggerford was altogether much of a sleepy backwater for her. Most of the human males in the vicinity were smitten with her; a few (and the majority of the human females) were disgusted with her airs and ways and openly public lovemaking with Filvendor. Few wept much when she was apparently torn apart and devoured by “monster trees” of some sort; many rumors swept Daggerford about this or that hired wizard (or even Elorfindar or someone working for him) luring her into the fatal trap, or augmenting or emboldening the monstrous flora.
Filvendor was heartbroken for the second time, and spurned Elorfindar’s attempts to comfort and support him. He adopted his father’s habits of taking many elven, half-elven, and human lovers, both locally and in Waterdeep, and withdrew behind a mask of politeness, spending much of his time physically in Daggerford but acting towards his kin almost as a polite stranger. This pose has thawed over the years, and Filvendor is now on polite terms with his siblings, but he and his father still refuse to look at each other directly, across a gulf of awkward silence. From time to time one of them tentatively reaches out, only to be met with such a warily polite response as to misinterpret it as coldly insincere.
As for Filvendor’s second son, Filarion Filvendorson (CN male elf Rogue11): from his earliest days, Filarion was an energetic, restless, wandering (throughout the eastern Heartlands and the coastal lands all around the Sea of Fallen Stars), curious, sly trickster, charismatic and engaging but of pliable morals. He had a lazy career as a sometime adventurer, but recently “retired” from that (or so he says) to settle back in Daggerford. Many locals believe he’s lying low to escape the notice of powerful foes, and living off huge amounts of purloined wealth. (Their suspicions are correct.)
Filarion has found peace in Daggerford from his restless wanderlust, if nothing else, though he and Kelson hate each other: Filarion regards Kelson as a sneak who, not even being a “proper elf,” must have fed Elorfindar a steady pack of lies to poison Elorfindar’s mind against Filvendor. In turn, Kelson regards Filarion as an evil swindler who has turned Filvendor against himself (Kelson) and Elorfindar, and is seeking to set the entire family at each other’s throats, so actual bloodshed will erupt - - and he can glide in and seize any wealth belonging to the casualties. Neither of them is bothering to find out the truth about the other; they treat each other with cold, careful, silken-tongued politeness, and watch each other warily, suspecting the worst motives in anything the other does.
So saith Ed. My, what a happy family. And a good indication of the depth Ed builds in, when he gets his hand on characters that for lack of page space and plot importance in the Daggerford book of THE NORTH, were very briefly portrayed the first time around.
Another juicy little scrap of Realmslore to add to everyone’s files.
love to all,
THO
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2007 : 02:13:38
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Well met again, all.
AlorinDawn, I believe Ed has already answered that (wood wins over coal, but there's camel-dung-patties in desert regions, and some other fuels). I'll check (unless, of course, Kuje or The Sage or dearest Woolly beat me to it [bat lashes, shimmy, purr, bat lashes again]).
It may have been the May 23rd '05 reply. I'm checking the other files now.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2007 : 15:53:33
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'Morning, Edo and THO. Time for another (heh heh) Cormyr question: are there hiring fairs, farmers' markets, horsesellers, and so on outside the city gates? Or is that not allowed?
If it is allowed, are there certain dates only? And is any semi-permanent presence (e.g. tenting in the same spot for a season) okay? And (larger question) what's the protocol for roadside camping throughout the realm? Can I stay in one spot by the side of the road and sell things?
Thanks!
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AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2007 : 19:36:53
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| While I can't speak for others, I know that even after 22 years of DMing I still struggle at coming with up with NPCs with relationships and backgrounds this deep Ed. You are amazing at what you do sir, simply amazing. |
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Phoebus
Acolyte
18 Posts |
Posted - 05 May 2007 : 23:48:37
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| The moral of the story is... don't marry into the Floshin family. Instances of exploding, tearing, and otherwise painful death are too high! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2007 : 00:05:06
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Hi, all. Ed’s offering of Realmslore this time is a response to Dargoth’s recent post: “I was wondering if Ed or the lovely Hooded one might have any knowledge on the topic of this scrolls subject matter: http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9299.”
This thread is ongoing, of course, but when I toddled along to check it out and pass it on to Ed, I found this question from Dargoth: “I have 2 players one who is born into waterdeeps nobility and another who may marry into one of the families both have in the past mentioned that they might pursue a ritual that allows them to gain various amount of dragon blood or take PrCs that make the character physically more dragonlike.
Now in Elaine Cunninghams novel Dreams spheres we find out that Waterdeeps nobility are quite racist when it comes to non humans marrying into their families (and in at least one instance theyve killed a non human whose married into the nobility)
We also know that several of Waterdeeps noble familys have non human blood in them
House Gost and Sultlue have Yuan ti blood
House Gralhund has tieflings
House Tesper and Thongolir have half steel dragons
So are Waterdeeps Nobles racist against all non human races marrying into the Nobility or just elves?”
Eric Boyd responded: “My guess is all other races, not just elves, but I'd have to check the wording in City of Splendors [2e] and The Dream Spheres.
For the houses you mention, the individuals other "parentage" are either hidden (although possibly well-known secrets) or open by not acknowledged a part of the family.
Note, if I had known about Dragon Magic when writing the book, I might have made a steel-variant of silverbrow humans for Houses Tesper and Thongolir.”
To this unfolding matter, Ed replies:
In all matters regarding attitudes, Realms novelists and game designers speak in generalities. A particular attitude may be held by a guild, a ruling court, a clergy, the citizenry of a place, or the nobility of a place, to name just a few groups, but that doesn’t mean each and every individual of that group thinks of a particular matter in precisely the same way, or even agrees with the general attitude at all. After all, no non-human could ever have married into the Waterdhavian nobility if there hadn’t been a noble who wanted to marry them. Even members of the same family who agree that “no pointy-eared freak will ever be one of us!” might disagree completely as to what to do to prevent that, or how to respond to remedy it if it happened; killing an elf who married into the family might shock and sicken some family members, but give grim satisfaction to others.
What prevails in Waterdeep is an ancient prejudice on the part of the founding humans to not let elves (in particular), dwarves, gnomes, halflings, orcs, or any other race “take over here in the Deep, because this is OUR city; they have theirs, but we founded this one to be OURS.” Few ‘pureblood’ (i.e. descended from the founders, not arrivals since) Waterdhavian humans alive today would agree with this prejudice, or even believe that it exists if it was pointed out to them, but it underlies the ‘general’ desire of the city’s nobles to “keep non-humans out” (of their own ranks, not of residency in the city or friendships or trade dealings). The merchant and working classes do NOT hold this prejudice, and never have (beyond the racism of individuals, sometimes extended to become the public view of a guild when the guildmaster was such a racist). Moreover, most Waterdhavian nobles distinguish between having non-human lovers (mistresses, et al) and actual marriage, do accept half-elves even when they do not want to accept elves (and half-elven family members when they didn’t accept the elf parent as a family member), AND overlook and ignore non-human family members who don’t reside in Waterdeep (and who, when visiting Waterdeep, stay in rented lodgings or family-owned modest city properties, rather than taking rooms in the family mansions - - please note that there’s nothing wrong with them visiting and feasting at the family mansion). In other words, if you as a Waterdhavian human nobleman marry an elf and she stays in the family lands in Amn or a palatial family mansion in Athkatla, no one cares - - unless or until family deaths make it seem imminent or likely that she may wind up as head of the family. Then some violence or at least covert pressure might arise, for her to name someone else as heir and agree to continue living ‘on the sidelines.’
In other words, “what happens outside our walls, stays outside our walls.” The nobles aren’t concerned with facts (except when inheritance is concerned), they’re concerned with public perception: in Waterdeep, each noble family wants to be seen by other noble families (the opinions of others, of course, don’t matter) as “pure.” Some noble family members, of older generations in particular, tend to be quite intolerant, and others (particularly adventurers who traveled widely in Faerûn and saw “other places and other ways” in plenty) really don’t care, and either go along with non-human prejudice so as to keep some accord within their family, or refuse to get involved in deeds and words that speak out against non-human family members (or would-be family members). Others who do hold this prejudice but don’t want to besmirch their family name even more by any behaviour of their own, usually also refuse to get involved: they ignore, won’t speak to, and avoid non-human family members, pretending they don’t exist (even when seated face to face, they will deliberately deal through intermediaries, such as servants, as if speaking to translators).
Many Waterdhavian families have, or have had, non-human members in the past, or quietly do today. Many more do, but don’t know it (because the “undercover” non-humans are doppelgangers or other shapechangers, who keep their identities secret; in some cases where a select few family members have learned such secrets, they have helped to keep the secrets rather than confronting and “outing” and creating trouble). Increasing numbers of individual Waterdhavian nobles, especially younger and more worldly (well-traveled) ones, tend not to feel strongly about non-humans marrying into the nobility (irritation or distaste would be their strongest reaction, not violence or hatred). Yet a sage or objective observer dwelling in the city would still believe “the nobles hate, and won’t accept in their families, elves and dwarves and all the rest; no non-humans as lords and ladies of Waterdeep.”
So saith Ed. Creator of Waterdeep, who breathed life into it for years before gamers ever saw it.
love to all,
THO
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2007 : 05:01:20
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I must have done something good this week (cant imagine what it was thou) to get a trifecta of realms lore!
Thanks Ed!
Ill be able to incorporate most of Eds stuff on the Floshin family, I ended up giving the player an Aunt who works as cleric in the Elven Temple and gave Elorfindar a deceased elder brother who is the only Sun elf known to successfully claim a Moonblade (needless to say Elaith is quite keen to study it given his Sun elf daughters interest in claiming his families blade) however he died some where in the north several centuries ago and the Moonblade has not been seen since. The blade is also sought by another member of the Floshin family a Fey'ri who escaped from Myth Drannor when the Crusade drove the Daemonfey out, she has heard of how the Starym family moonblade was corrupted and seeks to do the same to Floshin family blade.
On the Nobles of Waterdeep
Not good news for the human Knight taking "Blooded classes/Templates" thou as hes currently courting Hulmara Thorp which would mean he'd be the Thorp Matriarchs consort if they got married |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
Edited by - Dargoth on 06 May 2007 05:02:01 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2007 : 17:48:19
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Hi again, scribes. This time Ed responds to a query from last August, from Torkwaret: “Greetings Master Greenwood,
Since you already revealed so much about this mysterious persona which Ander was for many, many years, would you also be so kind as to answer my inevitable question - how would you describe Ander level wise, especially in comparison to such powers as Aumvor the Undying, Szass Tam or Khelben ??
Thanks”
Faraer commented: “Ed doesn't think in terms of levels, just approximate 'she overmatches him or is on a par in terms of this'. NPCs only get levels if they're going to conflict with PCs, and those levels depend on PC levels and the needs of the campaign. This is why you can't argue Realms from game stats, because the game stats are both approximate and arbitrarily precise.”
Torkwaret then responded: “Fine with me as well Faraer
Comparing him with Aumvor, Larloch, Khelben or Telamont would be, in fact, much better than assigning him any levels, especially if it's from Ed's point of view”
And GothicDan then posted: “Of course, Ed didn't create Aumvor or Telamont (Telamont being a remnant of the dire Netheril supplement, and later expanded in the equally-as-disappointing Return of the Archwizards Trilogy). And even "comparison"-wise, Ed seems to think that each NPC has strengths and weaknesses that can't be accurately reflected in the rules.... Larloch may be the most powerful in Necromancy and Gate magic, for instance, but perhaps not as powerful in another form...
Of course, we'll just have to wait and see what Ed says. :)”
Well, wait no longer. Heeeeeere’s Ed:
Faraer is quite correct. It’s hard for the game rules to accurately reflect everything that makes one wizard more formidable than another, but the LAST thing I want to do is add more rules to try (vainly) to fix that.
So let’s try to compare Ander with Larloch, Szass Tam, and Khelben before the events of BLACKSTAFF (there are outstanding NDAs regarding Aumvor and Telamont, but they can be thought of, for the purposes of this discussion, as being a little less powerful than the three entities I am comparing to Ander). Despite the fact that other writers and designers are using the surviving characters of this “comparison trio” almost constantly, I (as their creator who never stops detailing them) can speak about them with authority.
Ander has more levels than Szass Tam and Khelben, but fewer than Larloch. Of the “comparison trio,” in a one-on-one combat (no legions of allies for his foe) Ander could most easily defeat Szass Tam. He could “take” Khelben if Khelben were ever cut off from the aid of other Chosen and Mystra and Azuth and Mystra’s other divine servants. Larloch would probably mop the floor with Ander, every time.
Ander has far less influence than any of the trio (not just due to his lack of public reputation, but he has almost no servitors, or neighbours who know enough of him to be scared into obedience by him). In short, he can persuade, order about, or control far fewer people than the other three. He is a low-profile loner, who prefers to keep to himself and pass unnoticed.
Ander has less combat experience than any of the trio, and - - unlike all of them - - no modern (and therefore valid) experience with intrigues and negotiations.
Ander commands more powerful spells than all of the others except Larloch, and is no fool: he is a shrewd judge of others, and very alert (he will notice stealthy readying of weapons, magic items, and spells, shifts in position of groups of foes to give them all “clear fields of fire” against him, and so on). His relative lack of combat experience means he knows less about the unintended effects of hostile spells “running into each other” and unusual uses of spells in fighting situations; it does NOT mean he doesn’t know the nature and precise properties of his spells as thoroughly as it’s possible for a mortal to do, who can’t naturally “see” the Weave and practice working with its naked energies.
Although the Shadow Weave is new to him, his thinking (which is VERY fast) and habitual acute observation of all magic at work around him has already enabled him to understand how to respond to the Shadow Weave used against him.
A DM running Ander should use him as a vehicle for importing spells from non-WotC products, “tinkered-with” homebrew spells, and magical constructions that specialize in two things: deflecting spells cast at Ander onto another target (not necessarily back at the source), and invisibly carrying up to seven already-cast, “hanging” spells Ander has prepared, that he can unleash (up to four per round, although doing so is a full-round action, denying him normal spellcasting; if he casts a spell AND unleashes a “hanging” spell, that’s a full-round multiple attack on his part).
Ander is not a trickster, and is not aggressive; combat is something he resorts to reluctantly, not something he automatically initiates against any creature he doesn’t like the look or behaviour of.
Translocation magics are his specialty; he wears several self-crafted magic items that combine the magical effects of blink and mirror image, that he can cast spells (and unleash hanging spells) without penalty while using, because he’s so practiced in such fighting. He also makes much use of projected images (of himself), especially when meeting beings he’s suspicious of (in other words, those who try to clobber him may well be clobbering nothing, and merely warning him of their true intentions).
So saith Ed, creator of Ander, Khelben, Szass Tam, Larloch, and a long, long list of other spellhurling folks. Who is so tired beyond tired of “who would win a duel?” questions (and don’t worry, Torkwaret; Ed doesn’t consider this query of yours to be one of those), but despite that has a hand in a little surprise coming up for DL and FR gamers who like innocent fun.
love to all,
THO
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Adrix
Acolyte
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2007 : 21:25:59
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Hail Ed and the Hooded One;
I have what may seem a trivial question to pose, and one I hope has not yet been covered in your volumes of answers here at Candlekeep. What makes up traveling rations, specifically, is there anything unique to the realms or various regions contained within? Also, does popcorn exist in the Realms, and if not or so, what snacks do exist?
Sorry, I’m hungry ...
Adrix.
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"Foaming flagons held up high, we salute those about to die ..."
- A toast overheard at the Yawning Portal Tavern, Waterdeep.
http://outlawdnd.blogspot.com |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 07 May 2007 : 23:01:04
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Off your query goes to Ed, Adrix. In the meantime, consider this a highly unofficial answer, from my memories of Realmsplay sessions with Ed as DM: pressed date and fig cakes, dried sausages (akin to those "hot pepperoni" dessicated sausage things sold in convenience stores in the real world of today), quince-and-crushed-insects sticks (in the Vilhon, Shaar, Var, and Estagund), "handwheels" (palm-sized torii [or "toruses," if you prefer] of sealed-in-wax cheeses (of various flavours, some of them with crushed olives rolled into the cheese as it's made)).
Those are some of the trail snacks. As for "bought from shop windows" hot snacks in cities, Ed has covered those here: all manner of savoury tarts and pies, plus those handwheels of cheese, some of them laced with zzar or various other sherries or brandies. We ate some in Calimport once that contained rats in spiced gravy; very nice until we discovered what they were.
love,
THO |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 07 May 2007 23:08:55 |
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Adrix
Acolyte
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2007 : 00:28:20
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Thanks for so quick a response, Milady. Your "highly unofficial answer", as you so called it, is much closer to the genuine article than anyone else's ... save Ed's of course ... and is warmly received as canon in my book.
As always, your Realms stories are wonderfully entertaining to say the least; offering us a sneak peak, as it were, at what it must have been like to game with Ed before the Realms were public. In fact, I'll wager there are others here who'd love to hear even more about these exploits ... I know I sure would!
Thanks again;
Adrix of Highmoon. |
"Foaming flagons held up high, we salute those about to die ..."
- A toast overheard at the Yawning Portal Tavern, Waterdeep.
http://outlawdnd.blogspot.com |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2007 : 00:52:42
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Hello Hooded One--could you pass on to Ed that I finally got around to reading Cormyr: A Novel, and I very much enjoyed it? I thought the historical portions of book meshed wonderfully with the story taking place in 1369 DR, and needless to say I know more about the history of Cormyr than ever, now, from just those little tidbits. :) I think I was most struck by Tanalasta at the end of the book. During most of the book I was disappointed in her, because in spite of having some good strengths (like being intelligent) she cried a lot and tore up pillows; I had to agree with Vangey that grief is no excuse not to do anything when a whole realm is at stake. Yet at the end of the book, she seems more empowered and makes the decision to cultivate her own strengths and not be overly reliant on others. Those are the kind of transformations I always enjoy seeing--and considering that Tanalasta was, at the time, a 36 year old woman, one could see that ending scene as a sort of rebirth for her.
There were a few things I was hoping to see more of: Alusair and Filfaeril. :) And Emthrara and Rhauligan, and some more common folk. But then, it was already quite the large book, and I'll get another Cormyr fix later this summer. I did love the way Vangey was portrayed, and I do feel like I "know" him better. So once again, thanks for the enjoyment--I'd thank Jeff Grubb too, but he's not here.
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"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 - 09 May 2007 : 02:07:13
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Hello again, all. Back in April of 2006, scribe “boards” posted this for Ed’s response: “To the master of the Greenwood.
First let me say that I am supremely grateful that you reply (and what replies they are) but I would like to add another to your evergrowing list of questions.
First, about elves, they're generally described as being more slender than humans. Do you see this as being because they have narrower bones and ribcages than humans but have a decent amount of muscle. Or is their skeleton the same size as ours but with less flesh i.e. like a fashion model.
And second, seeing as you spoke about Artemis in your last post, are there any good aligned god/goddesses of hunting that a human can worship. Milieki and Silvanus both seem more about preservation of nature, and Malar is evil so they dont seem like someone that a pioneer out trying to catch a deer for his family to eat would be praying to.
Thanks for your time.”
Ed replies:
Hey, I like “talking Realms” with so many scribes who love the world I created. I love detailing it in response to questions, too, so keep them coming. The one problem is how overworked I am, and therefore how long I take to get around to replying (hence your slightly-over-a-year wait, for which I’m sorry - - but there’s only one of me, and I just can’t squeeze any more hours out of my days!)
Regarding your first question:
In general, elves have lighter, smaller-in-cross-section, more flexible and resilient bones than humans, with, yes, smaller ribcages. Their musculature varies as much as it does within humans (i.e. there are “body builder” types and there are “wasted waifs”), but elves very rarely have as much body fat as humans, so what muscles they do have are far more ‘on display’ (rippling, etc.). I repeat: I am speaking in generalities here, and individuals may vary. However, it’s wrong to think of elves as emaciated; most look “long-limbed and thin,” but have curves (as in, “flesh on their bones”) rather than looking like something out of a real-world concentration camp. To human eyes, they look beautiful or handsome, not ill or “at death’s door.”
As for your second question:
There’s nothing to stop a human from worshipping a hunting deity of another race (elves, for instance), although it would be unusual unless their upbringing included frequent ongoing contact with other worshippers of the non-human deity in question (and the reverse is of course also true; non-humans venerating a human deity. “Gods-fearing” individuals often pray to everyone relevant to something they’re trying to do, just to cover all eventualities and gain themselves the most divine favour possible.)
As far as human deities go, Mielikki is the primary one a subsistence hunter would look to, praying to her for success in the hunt, and protection from more fearsome beasts of the forest. In return, he would take only what was needful, and slay no forest creature needlessly or in a wantonly cruel fashion. (And he WOULD also pray to Malar, so that forest predator-beasts “on the hunt” would hopefully choose something else as prey, not him.)
It is important to keep the mindset of folk of Faerûn in mind when thinking about their attitudes towards deities: everyone in the Realms, except the insane, “believes in” ALL the gods, and considers them all powerful divine creatures. Only fanatics and dedicated clergy choose a single deity to worship; the vast majority of individuals worship in two ways: for and against. “For” success, and causes they believe in, and divine favour - - and “against” the wrath of gods (to appease them). For instance, a sailor might well pray to successful voyaging (Valkur) and navigation (Shaundakul), and against storms (Talos) and the fury of the sea (Umberlee). So there’s nothing at all unusual about your hunter wanting to feed his family to pray to both Mielikki and Malar (appeasement), and perhaps also Silvanus (appeasement) or Eldath (appeasement) or Lurue (appeasement) or Nobanion (appeasement) or even a local beast cult, if there is one.
So saith Ed. Who of course is the REAL “God” of the Realms, or at least its Creator. As a certain player (who shall remain nameless; no, it wasn’t me) once sarcastically asked, watching Ed projectile vomit after far too many drinks one night in his youth: “So, how’s the mighty tummy of the mightier creator of the vast and not-so-forgotten realms this evening?”
love to all,
THO
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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1419 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2007 : 04:49:18
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Hey Ed, it's been a long time since I've asked a question. As usual, our bumbling heroes are curious about another element of Cormyr life as they settle into the courtly life. I believe their official titles are "Royal Consorts" which Vangy discovered never required there only to be one. Of course. My question, is basically related to the fact that there's two young offspring running around the court in the Lady Lord of Arabel's new child and Little Azoun. I'm also thinking of introducing Caladnei's child, even though we couldn't say who the father is amongst the PCs or elsewise.
To cut to the chase....
Do God parents exist in the Realms? What would be the expected duties of our PCs if they were named so for our young pair of Royal Relations?
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My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2007)
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