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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Aug 2007 : 00:59:34
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Hi again, fellow scribes of these candle-filled halls. I bring you the words of Ed, this time to Kajehase, re. this: “Greetings Ed and the Hooded One.
I was reading Ed's Elminster's Guide to the Realms article in Dragon #289 - "The Shunned Street" - and now I'm wondering how widespread knowledge of the Arcane mark ward spell presented therein is. Is it a Thayvian exclusive, or does wizards of other regions also know of it (or of identical spells researched independently)?”
Ed replies:
That particular spell is a surprisingly overlooked magic, given that it is quite widespread. “Out of fashion, and therefore out of mind” is perhaps the best way to describe it. Like spats. Many of us have seen them in movies, worn by W.C. Fields or any number of others, but very few us own any, or customarily wear any, or even know where to readily get any.
So, no, the spell is not a Thayvian exclusive, and its fairly simple nature (utilizing spellcasting forms that can be described almost as “mainstream”) lends it to readily being researched or experimentally derived independently. It just hasn’t (yet, perhaps) “caught on” much. Unless you as a DM want it to, of course. :}
So saith Ed. Creator of enough D&D spells to fill a book or two (oh, wait; they already have  ). But then, he never stops weaving new magic . . .
love to all,
THO
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Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1120 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2007 : 02:18:04
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Hello dear Ed and THO.
I want to know if Ed can provide us some information about the thri-kreen of the Shining Plains. Their social organization, customns, beliefs and gods.
One of my players want to play a thri-kreen monk/psichic warrior, and I'm thinking in expand the info of the Vilhon Reach supplement for him.
Thanks in advance. |
Dwarf, DM, husband, and proud of this! :P
twitter: @yuripeixoto
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poilbrun
Acolyte
Belgium
17 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2007 : 17:12:23
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Hello,
I have a question of meaning.
I will give birth to a girl in a few months and we love two names in particular :
Laeral and Alassra.
Therefore, we would like to know if those two names have a meaning or a translation, and if so, what is it?
Thank you very much, I can't wait to hear from you.
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2007 : 02:37:29
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Jamallo, Ed chuckled at your Harry Potter reference. He told me he still has two Mac IIs, but both have the same fault: a capacitor has "gone bad" somewhere on the motherboard, so he can start each of them up ONCE (because they fry the entire power supply, each time they run). As getting power supplies is now darn near impossible, Ed doesn't turn them on any more. You'll probably be happy to know many early Realms products were written on those Mac IIs.
love,
THO
Oh, the motherboards of Mac II computers ... I think that a certain compound word using "mother" has often been applied to those motherboards. Still ... it was thrilling to contemplate that my desk had, sitting upon it, a little box with more computing power than existed in England, Germany and the USA combined in WWII -- enough computing power to set up a moon launch, if one had the right software. Nu, now the things don't have enough power to even boot up contemporary computers. (And sitting at my Mac II, I often remembered the breathless prediction in Analog after the release of the Altair that soon -- certainly within the decade -- personal computers might have as much as 16k of RAM!  ) *sigh* It's ever so much easier, though, to palm off one's writing on some Deneirath monk....
Ahem! To the questions! Of which I have two:
1. what happens to a well-made lich's phylactery when it is attacked by a (2nd edition) Mordenkainen's disjunction, and what happens to a well-made lich's phylactery when it is attacked by a (3rd edition) disjunction?
2. Rashemen excluded, are there "real" witches (a la Wicca or pick-your-flavor Neo-Paganism) on Toril? In Mongoose's Quintessential Witch, and in some other game systems, witches are considered "divine" spellcasters, but what's the deal with that on Toril? Do witches worship a male-female duality into which Chauntea and Silvanus readily step, or a light-dark duality (Selune and Shar?), or is there something more complex? Or "arcane" casters and not "divine" casters? Or are they simply non-existent as such on Toril? (I hope that Ed will expound in some detail upon this, since I suspect that the average traveller is more likely to meet some "hedge wizard" in the outback or some village "wise woman" than a spellslinger who can alter the very fabric of the Cosmos at will, and who knows secrets which would drive an ordinary person mad -- mad, mad! -- if they knew them.)
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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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2007 : 03:24:40
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Hello again, all. Ed has chosen to respond this time around to poilbrun's post just two above this one, so I won't repeat it here. Ed says:
Please accept my good wishes! I have to admit that I just coined (invented) both of those names; they aren't translations or even derivations of anything except that they had to "look and sound" female (the "ra" ending, for example), and they had to "sound righgt" when applied to the two characters I invented them for. One can see the word "lass" in the middle of "Alassra," but I didn't deliberately build the name around that word (unlike, say Alustriel, which WAS deliberately built around the word "lust").
So the two names, so far as I know, don't "mean anything" in an old language or have any intended hidden meanings. I would feel honoured if you chose one of them for your daughter, but of course you should do what I did, when creating them: say them, read them, and use them over and over, consciously applying them to the human being you want to apply them to (along with any other naming choices you may have selected), and in the end pick the one that seems "right" to you.
It would be wrong of me to try to influence this decision in any way, beyond providing the bare answer to your question, so I'll end now. Happy choosing!
. . . And there you have it; Ed's answer. Smiling just as he is, I leave you now,
love,
THO |
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Mehangel
Acolyte
6 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2007 : 22:06:23
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I was looking through Champions of Valor when I came across mention of the tree temple Teumyshaaril, which is to Rillifane Rallathil page 138. States that it is located "in the heart of the High Forest".
Then later when reading in the book Silver Marches I discovered mention of the grandfather tree which is supposedly the "mightiest tree on the face of Faerun" page 27. At first I thought that these two were one and the same, but when viewing the map, it shows the grandfather tree being located at the border of Turlang, the Treant's Wood. This is clearly not at the Heart of the High Forest. If these two trees are the same why does it only say that it is sacred to Silvanus, and if these two trees are not the same tree, is it also sacred to the leaflord?
As I went to investigate further into the matter I found that the only tree that Rillifane Rallathil truly holds in regard is The Moontouch Oak by the forest of Cormanthyr. (I do not mean to say that the leaflord does not care for the other trees but his description only mentions one.) As I did more research I found that the Moontouch Oak is the largest tree in faerun.
So my questions are these:
1) Which of the two/three trees are the tallest/grandist.
2) Which of the above trees in mention is "most favored" of Rillifane Rallathil.
3) Both the grandfather tree and Teumyshaaril are home to Wood Elves, does he also have many wood elves in addition to wild elves? |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 00:00:24
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Here's the reply I posted to Mehangel's questions on the... Gleemax boards.quote:
They're not the same. 'Those few elves who have encountered the Grandfather Tree in recent centuries typically venerate it as a manifestation of Rillifane Rallathil' (see the "Mintiper's Chapbook" article).
1. Indeterminate: I don't imagine anyone measuring them like Midwest 'World's Largest Ball of String'-style roadside attractions, or that spiritual elven tree-worshippers are too concerned with whose is biggest. If you had to bet, Grandfather Tree is 'Without a doubt the mightiest tree' while Moontouch Oak is 'believed to be the largest living oak'.
2. Probably, in as far as it can be known, Moontouch Oak, from its prominent mention in Demihuman Deities and the tenor of the descriptions, including the relatively recent religious use of the Teymyshaaril tree. But it's self-involved priests who worry about who's 'most favoured', not the truly devout. See the kerfuffle between Eldathyn and Mielikkians over Eldath's Water in Cloak of Shadows.
These are sacred sites. The holier of Mount Olympus and Mount Fuji is whichever you're close to, and it's irrelevant which is physically tallest.
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Edited by - Faraer on 11 Aug 2007 00:00:57 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 01:25:49
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Hello again, all. Once more I place before you the words of Ed of the Greenwood, creator of the Realms, this time in response to Bahgtru’s question: “Last year you responded to a question of mine about Madeiron Sunderstone and indicated he is a character you would like to write about time permitting. Any chance he will find print in the near future? Thank you in advance!”
Ed replies:
Unfortunately, not that I know of, unless a scribe who reads this is crafty enough to suggest his inclusion in the next Spin A Yarn tale at GenCon. (Even then, your definition of “near future” may not fit how long it may take to get that story “up” on the Wizards website; I’ve recently learned that the 2006 yarn still hasn’t appeared.) However, I’m still interested in Madeiron and consider him one of the many “neglected” characters of the Realms I’d like to see more of. One way or another, I would still like to get him into some of my Realms fiction . . .
So saith Ed, voicing his eternal lament of “Not enough time! Not enough wordcount! Not enough breadth in these products, to sneak in all I want to sneak in!”
I fear the reasons behind those complaints are not going to go away. Ever. Yet consider how much we’ve already got. The Realms IS the most detailed fantasy setting yet, and still unfolding before us, more than forty years after a young Eddie sat alone with it in his father’s den . . .
love to all,
THO
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poilbrun
Acolyte
Belgium
17 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 14:04:35
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| Thanks THO and pass my thanks to Ed for his quick reply. |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 14:39:38
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| Good day again Sweet Lady of the Hood. Sorry to add to Eds ever growing workload, but I was wondering, would it be possible to get the names of some of the settlements of Turmish? With the exception of the main cities there is very little in the published sources. Any other information you would be able to give about these and matters turmish will of course be met with thanks also. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 16:32:39
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Jorkens, are you familiar with Ed's coverage of Turmish in his "ELMINSTER'S EVERWINKING EYE" column in the old POLYHEDRON Newszine? Ed covered the countryside, not the cities. I know there are indices ("indexes" to Americans) out on the Net that cover which POLY issues have what . . .
love,
THO |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 17:01:44
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Indeed. As I recall, the POLYHEDRON articles feature lore on Turmish that didn't make it into Vilhon Reach accessory. The coverage of Turmish in POLYHEDRON:- #96, 98, 101, 103–108.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 17:15:22
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Dear Lady THO and Ed,
I just read Swords of Dragonfire and really, really enjoyed it. I know Ed has a third Knights book next year, but can he tell us yet what his Realms fiction plans are after that?
Thanks! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 17:20:32
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Sage, thanks for providing the issue numbers. I wasn't an RPGA member, and have always had to peek at Ed's issues.
However, Ed wrote those articles well before Jim Butler wrote the VILHON REACH sourcebook, so they can't be "leftovers" from it. In those days, Ed was so busy (heh; big change from THESE days, hmm?) with other Realms writing projects that he used to drop everything for a week and write 20 or so Poly articles and fire them off to the editor, so there'd be a large stack of not-yet-published text that the editor could rely on (lots of POLY articles got "donated" at the last moment by overworking TSR staffers, or arrived long after being promised by RPGA gamers who were great at designing and playing, but not so great at sitting down and formally typing up their stuff). So some of Ed's stuff was written and submitted two to three years before it got published.
love,
THO |
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Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1120 Posts |
Posted - 11 Aug 2007 : 18:25:09
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
Indeed. As I recall, the POLYHEDRON articles feature lore on Turmish that didn't make it into Vilhon Reach accessory. The coverage of Turmish in POLYHEDRON:- #96, 98, 101, 103–108.
Sage, only a doubt: in the Player's Guide to the Vilhon Reach, p. 2, it's said that Turmish is covered in the issues 96, 98, 101, 103-107 of the Polyhedron.
There is some more info in the issue 108? |
Dwarf, DM, husband, and proud of this! :P
twitter: @yuripeixoto
Facebook: yuri.peixoto |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2007 : 01:08:35
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Yes, there is. It's Ed's "The End of the Road in Turmish" article in #108.
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
However, Ed wrote those articles well before Jim Butler wrote the VILHON REACH sourcebook, so they can't be "leftovers" from it.
Aye. I didn't realise my mistake until I re-read the post this morning. What I should've said was... "these 'Turmish' articles from Ed contain lore that doesn't feature in the Vilhon Reach accessory." |
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 |
Edited by - The Sage on 12 Aug 2007 01:12:42 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2007 : 05:02:47
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Hi again, scribes. This time Ed answers Rolindin’s followup circus queries: “Then thank you for the answer Mr. Greenwood.
The next question about such entertainment traveling troupes is: where do you think they would have a permanent settlement?
I do remember that in Florida there is a retirement circus town, where all the performers go on the off-season and retire there, to raise their children to follow in their crafts.
To me, in the Realms I would think that a small town in the North, maybe by Longsaddle somewhere, is a good place to put such a town. Maybe by the captial city of Corymr, a small town for the performers also. Far enough away but not too far.
Where do you think such traveling troupe retirement and off-season towns would be at? If you don't mind me asking.”
Ed replies:
Florida is one of those warm-winter sites where folks don’t have to worry about freezing to death in winter without chopping lots of wood, or fighting off wolves, or having no green growing things to eat (herbs, vegetables, et al). The same concerns tend to hold true in the Realms: Longsaddle is “just inside” the cold, snow-swept, orc-raided, monster-roamed North. Waterdhavian patrols reach it in winter only when snows permit, and merchant caravans often don’t reach it at all.
Similar considerations will prevent all but the wealthiest performers from wintering over in friendly-to-such-artistes Silverymoon or Everlund—and the high cost of daily living would make most of them shun Waterdeep, too (exceptions in all cases being those who can “stay on the cheap” with family, or work at a “winter job,” usually craftwork of some kind).
Traveling troupes are far more likely to winter over in southern Tethyr, the Vilhon, and more southerly areas (near Innarlith, for example, or in the Border Kingdoms, or down in Luiren).
Cormyr is “law and order” safe, enough, yes, but still has a harsh winter climate—and most traveling performers will by nature mistrust the surveillance “everyone knows” the War Wizards perform on everyone and every place in the Forest Kingdom.
Remember, acrobatic entertainers need warm weather, cheap food and accomodation, and relative safety, so they can keep their muscles relaxed as they practice, readily recuperate from injuries suffered on the road, and live cheaply and easily. That usually means dwelling on farms, villages, and hamlets in lush, warm, lightly- (or fairly-) ruled areas.
So saith Ed. Who does think all of these things through. At a great and ongoing cost to his sanity.
love to all,
THO
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Rolindin
Acolyte
USA
46 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2007 : 10:14:16
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Thank you again for your answer Mr. Greenwood.
Now that you mention it the performers do like warm weather to stay in off season.
So in the north then Neverwinter, where they could have their own little section in the city or out side the city but still have the city protection also: very close to the city then. |
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Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5692 Posts |
Posted - 12 Aug 2007 : 22:17:30
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Well met
Another scroll found floating around in the halls.
quote:
Originally posted by prespos
Well Again, Ed, it's me, John, from Brookbanks!
("It is the doom of men, that they learn wisdom too late" :
"that's why we need women!":)
When is the next book tour? I think you should do those more regularly, something like once a month
(much more fun than going to see a good movie : and it was good food, too!) :
doesn't Wizards give you a promo budget
(plane (learjet) tickets, laptop, stewardesses serving Dragon Stew, etc.)?
They should! I think that if anyone has earned that by now, it should be you. Maybe we can take a vote, or ask the CK webmasters to take another of their polls ...
If you are coming back to Toronto, or are just in the city, please let me know (prespos2000@yahoo.ca) : if it's at the Merill, and if you need help with maps, or a slideshow, or preparing some of the featured
foods in the chapter, just let me know, in advance.
(Hey, i could even try to find that 'tailoress' at the Wiccan Church of Canada, if you wanted some of the F&A priestly vestments done ; as well, there's a smith there that does weapon-work, with exact runes,
ea. ; last but not least, there used to be someone down at Harborfront who would be able to do exact replicas of the Pages from the Mages, although I don't know if it would be worth all the trouble, without
a 'pseudonym'. yikes - i have to jostle myself, and remind meself that this is about literature, not a theatre. Sometimes, i think that i should _live_ in a theater. Hmm, illusionists vs. holographic technology .
yikes. rejostle. uhh...)
The only crit I would have had is that there were too many industry questions during the Q&A. Do have a preference, or an anti-preference, for certain kinds of questions?
John Scott
(prespos)
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Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2007 : 01:18:09
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Thank you, Alaundo. Methinks that scroll has been floating around for some time; it must refer to Ed's tour for ELMINSTER'S DAUGHTER (!). Nevertheless, I shall forward it to Ed for his reply . . .
Hello again, all.
Back in May, Zandilar posed a quartet of questions; Ed has dealt with the first, and now tackles the fourth, leaving the two “middle queries” for later occasions. This fourth question was: “Do War Wizards retire at all, or is their membership lifelong? Could a War Wizard request to be taken off active service, and perhaps play a teaching/support role?”
Ed replies:
Yes, War Wizards do retire - - but as both Laspeera and Vangerdahast have been heard to say on occasion, “War Wizards never REALLY retire.” (Meaning: the rest of the War Wizards keep a close watch on them to make sure they don’t go mad or turn traitor, or succumb to the temptation to use the secrets or magic they’ve learned to blackmail anyone or settle scores with other citizens in ways that upset the peace (they’ll turn a blind eye to an aging War Wizard “paying back” a dishonest or cruel noble or swindling merchant, but step in if the War Wizard turns into a local “quiet tyrant” over a community or rural area).
Most War Wizards retire because they grow sick of all the deceit they uncover or are made aware of, or become too old or disease-twisted to deal with the demands of War Wizard missions; they don’t want to feel “abandoned” and lonely, and welcome visits from colleagues who “keep them up to date” with (usually censored versions of) what’s happening within the Wizards of War.
Many “retired” War Wizards become paid-by-the-Crown tutors of younger War Wizards and other Crown agents and bureaucrats, sharing their expertise about particular Cormyrean families and businesses as well as magical matters.
So yes, they can request such “retirement duties.” Realmslore to date has recorded little of such folk by the very nature of the excitement we’re usually chasing, in print, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Becoming “house wizard” to a noble family whose members are all aging is another form of “less-than-energetic” service; see my current Knights of Myth Drannor trilogy for some examples of house wizards.
So saith Ed. Creator of the War Wizards, Vangerdahast and Laspeera, Cormyr and the Realms and the little black cloth bookmark Vangey used to mark his place in the salacious “heaving-bosoms” chapbooks he secretly took to reading in recent years. Little knowing that Laspeera (under a pseudonym, of course) wrote some of them. (And yes, this little aside is canon; it comes to me directly from Ed.)
love to all,
THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2007 : 06:22:33
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More questions for my queue... Both of these come from the Incantatrix article in Dragon 90.
quote:
It was not until the Testing of the "witch" Alaertha by the Council of the Mighty in long-ago Guldethym that such spellcasters were recognized as a distinct breed (or class) of magic-users, even as we look upon illusionists, with unusual talents in their own right.
quote:
The individual presently known only as "The Mage of Stars" may also be an incantatar.
Anything more you can tell us about Alaertha, the Council of the Mighty, or, most particularly, The Mage of Stars?
And, if I didn't ask before, I'm interested in knowing more about Rilantaver, the "elusive trickster" inventor of Rilantaver's staff (Dragon 173, the "Bazaar of the Bizarre" article on staves).
As always, thank you for your time! 
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6646 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2007 : 11:43:04
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Or Guldethym for that matter. Or Nuvorene from the "Ecology of the Rot Grub".
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Kalevala
Acolyte
43 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2007 : 19:48:14
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Hello,
I'm starting a campaign based in Waterdeep and planned to have the Order of Magists and Protectors and the temple of Lathander act major roles in it.
I'd really like to know as much as I can about these organizations, e.g. what does their bases of operations look like on the in- and outside, why were the organizations founded in Waterdeep and do they still strive toward those goals, what are the organizations' most important characters like (appearance, character, and motivations), what are the average members like, and what kind of tasks and chores are involved in their everyday life?
For example, I've already gathered that the Spires of the Morning most likely has a bell tower(s), a sun dial on it's courtyard, and the main entrance faces east. It was built in 69 NR and re-built in 313 NR after it burned to the ground. The temple is led by Ghentilara (who is described in some detail in CoS:Waterdeep), and the members are likely to watch each sunrise. I've also got the map of the temple in the City System.
In other words, scattered details which I'd like to expand on. I know all the questions probably can't be answered (or have been answered elsewhere?), but all help is certainly welcome!
Edit: To summarize, I really just want to get the right feel for these organizations in my game, as in NOT just a generic mage guild and a generic temple. I'm looking for details that make them feel real and well... 'Waterdeepish', and also some insight on what makes them tick. |
Edited by - Kalevala on 13 Aug 2007 19:58:55 |
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AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2007 : 21:08:49
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Ed & THO,
I've left you two be long enough >=).
My question this time is have you ever DMed a group of plains jumpers who ended up in a more modern era (old west or current time) other than the time you mentioned having your players pop out near your home in game?
Hope to meet you Saturday at Gencon! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2007 : 02:49:07
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Hello again, all. This time Ed makes a tiny start on a huge query recently posed by Skeptic: “I would really much like a short description of all the "empty" areas of realms. By "empty" I mean all the place light-green colored on the FR interactive atlas. Generally, all the place between forests, swamps, mountains, cities, etc. I don't want so much place-specific details, but a general picture.
When I DM, it's always those areas that I have the more trouble describing to the players : settled or not settled? If settled, only farms/herding lands or hamlet (like Rassalantar but not on map) ? What's the density of the settlements? etc..
Of course the main areas would be : the North, Cormyr, Western Heartlands, Amn, Tethyr, Sembia, the Dales, Moonsea north, etc.
It's something that I guess Ed could come with quickly (not meaning he will answer fast) but if it's too much of work for what can be done here, I'll understand.
Thanks.”
Ed replies:
A great request, but a BIG one.
It’s personally difficult for me because a lot of the “Realms in my head” no longer match the published Realms, thanks to the 3rd Edition maps of the Realms inexplicably altering overnight from the 2nd Edition maps, in those same “empty” areas you refer to (read SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE carefully for the words of a wandering Harper, and what a senior War Wizard says about portals, for the glimmers of an in-game explanation of this change).
It’s also large in scope because we’re talking about “describe all of the empty countryside of a large and varied continent” here.
So in this answer, I’m going to cover just two small and easy parts of your request: Cormyr and (tomorrow) the Western Heartlands.
Cormyr:
In the Forest Kingdom, the “open empty areas” are generally lightly settled throughout the coastal south and around the Wvyernwater, but almost deserted (except for hermits, outlaws, and a few “loner” shepherds, prospectors, and hunters) in the West Reaches, the Stonelands, and much of the northeast (north of the Hullack Forest).
In general, the West Reaches and the Stonelands are mainly bare rock with shallow soil, where the rest of the realm has deeper, richer soil.
So this “rest of the Realm” can be described as gently rolling, and dominated by small farmsteads: low, modest stone or timber, sod-roof barns and homes surrounded by a mix of fallow fields/pastureland and sewn crops, fields walled by lines of heaped-up stumps-plus-stones (inevitably: the tangled canes of berry bushes and scrub trees grow up among them), and woodlots.
Where there are no farms, the countryside is wild grasslands overlaid by scrub woodlands (everything was logged over extensively in the past, and lone large trees have been harvested ever since), with marshes of standing deadfalls, stagnant water, and much wild “bush.” Extensive Purple Dragon patrolling has led to cart tracks-paralleled-by-grassy-rides crisscrossing even deserted countryside (so the patrols can “get around” swiftly), with campsites (felled treetrunk seats around a firepit) on most heights of land (these can be used by any travellers). These tracks have no signage, but their moots with main roads usually have markers of heaped stone with graven and painted marks on them: a simple picture (so a Dragon commander can tell his men: “Turn off on the track at the sign of the sliced-in-half apple”) plus a direction and distance to the next settlement (“Waymoot: half a day” and an arrow).
So in this countryside, windswept heights will almost always be grasslands (the Purple Dragons have cleared them of trees, to use as lookouts and so that invading forces can be seen crossing or occupying them (regardless of the relative paucity of invasions, down the years, the Dragons are sent out on “exercises” against each other, with another Dragon unit “playing the invader”), and the downslopes are usually thickets of bushes and saplings of the aspen (poplar), birch, and willow sort, with beeches, maples, oaks, walnuts, chestnuts, and duskwoods all growing more rarely amongst them (and many of these older trees have been scarred by lightning, had boughs lopped off them for firewood, or have been coppiced). There are some short cliffs (falls of perhaps twenty feet) and talus or scree (rocks fallen from weathering cliff-faces), but the land is relatively gentle.
So saith Ed, who will return with a description of the “open empty areas” of the Western Heartlands next time.
love to all,
THO
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2007 : 04:56:03
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
It’s personally difficult for me because a lot of the “Realms in my head” no longer match the published Realms, thanks to the 3rd Edition maps of the Realms inexplicably altering overnight from the 2nd Edition maps, in those same “empty” areas you refer to (read SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE carefully for the words of a wandering Harper, and what a senior War Wizard says about portals, for the glimmers of an in-game explanation of this change).
It’s also large in scope because we’re talking about “describe all of the empty countryside of a large and varied continent” here.
So in this answer, I’m going to cover just two small and easy parts of your request: Cormyr and (tomorrow) the Western Heartlands.
Thanks for that wonderfull answer, but I must beg Ed for a third and last part about the "North" (Swords Coast to Anarauch, from Waterdep and above) which is my favorite part of the Realms |
Edited by - Skeptic on 14 Aug 2007 04:56:42 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2007 : 15:06:29
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Hello again, fellow scribes. This time Ed returns with his promised second part of replying to Skeptic’s request for descriptions of the “open empty areas” of the Realms, as follows:
Western Heartlands: This is a LOT of area, and so encompasses a wide variety of terrain, but the majority of the countryside is gently rolling hills (drumlins) covered by trees, with all of the downslopes and bottom lands being wild grasslands (like tallgrass prairie). There’s lots of gravel and sandy soil (digging is easy), open water is relatively scarce but the land isn’t dry (dig down far enough, typically four to seven feet, and you can find wet earth and, if you sink a helm or cup into the wet earth, it will soon fill with water enough to drink), and tiny trickling creeks and rills, that rise from the earth and then vanish down underground again (rather than forming larger rivers or lakes) are plentiful.
Birds, large fluttering insects, and other wildlife are also plentiful (hunters and snarers can readily feed themselves as they travel), and this is “big sky” country, with lots of sunlight, clouds moving swiftly overhead, and fast-moving, sweeping storms rather than long, soaking rains. Mornings and evenings tend to be misty, because nights are markedly colder than days.
Some parts of the Heartlands have small cliffs, crags, and “badlands” erosion-faces, and are windier and dryer than the rest of the countryside. These sometimes have small caves (usually beast lairs) where such are very rare in the rest of the Heartlands.
Most of this countryside is uninhabited by “civilized” races, visited only by travellers who camp and move on. Orc hordes and other large armies can move fairly freely in such terrain, and so have swept over it repeatedly in the passing centuries. Ranchers sometimes graze herds as they move through it (guarding the herds from wolves and other predators with mounted spear- and bowmen), but permanent habitations are usually waystop hamlets or fortified inns along the trade-roads. Elsewhere, long-deserted ruins (occasionally used as monster lairs or outlaw bases) are the only buildings likely to be found.
So saith Ed. Your Realms geography professor (and history professor, and sociology prof, and . . .)
Ed is starting the drive down to GenCon, and so will fall e-silent until next Wednesday, so I, too, will take a vacation from Candlekeep and do some of my work tasks that are better performed whilst maintaining e-silence. However, don't stop posting those questions! I KNOW there will be a flood of them after certain soon-upcoming news breaks . . .
love to all,
THO
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2007 : 15:13:22
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Always with the teasing THO . . . 
It occured to me last night, even as busy as Ed normally is, I can imagine he is even moreso on the cusp of Gen Con, and yet right up to departure time he is still sending us answers.
Thank you so much Ed and THO for the effort that you put in here. It really is greatly appreciated. |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2007 : 15:54:15
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello again, fellow scribes. This time Ed returns with his promised second part of replying to Skeptic’s request for descriptions of the “open empty areas” of the Realms, as follows:
*WOW*!   
Simply a great piece of Realmslore, that will add more flavour to many of my campaigns! My humble thanks, O Master of the Green Wood and Most Respected Lady Herald! |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2007 : 16:17:10
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Hey Ed, I've got another question for you [shudder ], though it's not Realmslore-related.
I picked up my copy of Dragons of Krynn earlier this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see a brief contribution from your very own quill contained within this tome. Needless to say, I was definitely intrigued by this so, naturally, I was wondering whether you could tell me a little more about how this came about? |
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 |
Edited by - The Sage on 14 Aug 2007 16:19:44 |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2007)
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