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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
 Posted - 16 Sep 2007 : 23:53:06
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This quote from a post Rich Baker made to the Wizards boards in July has sudden new relevance:quote:
Finally, back in the early days of the game it was absolutely true that wizards just owned high levels. The most powerful people in the world without exception were high-level wizards. Ed's original FR accepted this established game mechanic fact and followed it to its logical conclusion -- so Faerun was full of old, powerful archmages who could do anything they wanted. In more recent years the disparity between the classes has narrowed a great deal. Allowing characters of different classes to rise to prominence means a quiet retirement of at least some of those archmages. So part of what you're seeing is simply an effort to make use of more of the wonderful breadth of character concept the game now permits.
In any event, it's not a systematic or deliberate effort to kill off old characters--it's just a bit of evolution at work. And I wouldn't worry about Elminster.
I wonder to what extent is the prominence of mages of power in the published Realms a 1E rules artefact (as Rich suggests), to what extent is it deliberate, and how much is it down to publishing factors such as the foregrounding of the Chosen of Mystra and neglect of detailing priesthoods?
The 'could do anything they wanted' part also doesn't match my understanding. |
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Skeptic
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 00:31:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
I have a quick question for Ed with regard to 4ed Realms (Which Im hoping wont be stopped by NDAs)
Is the 4ed realms set in 1385 (ie at the Start of Spellplague) or a hundred years from now? (ie 1485 when Drizzt is writing his "essays" in Orc King)
My biggest fear is that it's not a NDA that prevent Ed from answering, but the fact the he doesn't know  |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 01:15:10
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Most Respected Ed and Lady THO,
I wish to add to my previous post that the 'revelation' about Hesperdan's potential identity in 'Swords of Dragonfire' was a brilliant and absolutely chilling piece of Realmslore - my thanks for it! =)
And I also forgot to mention how much my own DMing has been influenced by all that ('high' and 'low') intrigue and 'character interaction' (I cannot think of a better term) you've shown us in your Realms novels. Your stories have added many layers of complexity into my campaigns -- not to forget an ever-increasing number of scheming merchants, nobles, War Wizards, Harpers, Zhentarim mages, weird cultists and many, many others who generally seek to complicate the lives of the PCs =)
P.S. It was fun to have some glimpses into the Knights romping through the Haunted Halls in 'Swords of Eveningstar', and compare that to our own experiences in those same rooms (that were mentioned in the novel :) |
"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 Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 01:24:12
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Sage and Arkhaedun, indulge us for a moment, please. Ed will return to lore replies forthwith, but folks are upset and he wants to address that. So . . .
Hi again, everyone. Ed is remaining true to his promise to “be here” for scribes, but warns that he just can’t answer as freely as he might, not just because of NDAs and not wanting to damage the process of unfolding the Realms, but because so much just isn’t known yet (by him, and presumably by most others) about specifics of the 4e Realms.
However, without further jabber from me, heeeeere’s Ed:
Hello, all. I continue to receive e-mails, phone calls, snail mail letters, and in-person queries, beefs, and pleas for reassurance from longtime Realms fans - - and continue to be humbled by the depth of your feeling for the Realms. Thank you, everyone.
Though I am frantically busy trying to get things done before flying off to Australia (during which trip I will almost certainly fall e-silent, BTW) I will try to respond to scribes who have posted in this thread, as I come to your posts in the e-mails THO forwards me.
Red Walker, you’re welcome, thanks for the love, and you are very, very right to say: “Fear of change is natural, and greater fear of Big changes is too!”......
.....
Love To All,
THO
Yerself and Lady THO have earned it many times over!!!
Know that this Scribe is with ye, and riding like hell to keep up with that damned horse of yours!! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Mkhaiwati
Learned Scribe
USA
252 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 02:00:11
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yummmm... fresh trout. I am going trout fishing in a couple of weekends... (sorry, my wife complains I think with my stomach, not my head [or the other thing guys think with])
Thank you for your kind words regarding the anxiety over 4e. I am in the wait and see crowd, just not optimistic. But the real question has not been asked of you, yet: Will there still be a Candlekeep in the Realms? In another thread, I offered several suggestions on new names; Hamsterburg, Furrykeep, and Big Al's Diner and Chapbook Emporium.
On a slightly more serious question, I have always had a soft part in my heart (not stomach) for Lurue since I read your and THO's recollections with this goddess. The gamebooks portray her as kind of a second-rate nature goddess and very under appreciated. I always liked her as your force, almost embodiment of the Weave. Since her fate in 4e is probably NDA'd, hypothetically, in your world with her as the Weave, how would the possible destruction of the Weave affect her? Seriously weakened or gone altogether? Or reborn as something else?
Thank You |
"Behold the work of the old... let your heritage not be lost but bequeath it as a memory, treasure and blessing... Gather the lost and the hidden and preserve it for thy children."
"not nale. not-nale. thog help nail not-nale, not nale. and thog knot not-nale while nale nail not-nale. nale, not not-nale, now nail not-nale by leaving not-nale, not nale, in jail." OotS #367 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 02:59:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Skeptic
quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
I have a quick question for Ed with regard to 4ed Realms (Which Im hoping wont be stopped by NDAs)
Is the 4ed realms set in 1385 (ie at the Start of Spellplague) or a hundred years from now? (ie 1485 when Drizzt is writing his "essays" in Orc King)
My biggest fear is that it's not a NDA that prevent Ed from answering, but the fact the he doesn't know
He's pretty much stated that he either doesn't know or can't say:
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
(snip)
Ed is remaining true to his promise to “be here” for scribes, but warns that he just can’t answer as freely as he might, not just because of NDAs and not wanting to damage the process of unfolding the Realms, but because so much just isn’t known yet (by him, and presumably by most others) about specifics of the 4e Realms.
(snip)
IF there’s a hundred-year jump
(snip)
So, while there is much uncertainty and strong feelings, we are all basically waiting on what WotC tells us. We're on their schedule.
And I, too, would really prefer to see the 4E talk go back into scrolls dedicated to such topics. I'm sure we all appreciate what Ed and his lovely assistant have said. And we know Ed will say more when he can, and we know that, for many reasons, he's got to be careful about what he says and when he says it. So let's all respect that, and stick to the purpose of this scroll: asking the man himself about the current and past Realms.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 03:01:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Mkhaiwati
On a slightly more serious question, I have always had a soft part in my heart (not stomach) for Lurue since I read your and THO's recollections with this goddess.
Lurue is my fave Realms deity, as well, mainly because of the Knights of the Unicorn. Any deity that favors a happily whimsical group is a deity for me!  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 03:32:25
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Reading Ed's generous reply, and thinking back to a conversation I had this morning with a self-employed contractor, on "who does good in a big corporate organization," and why strong individuals almost always get the hell out and strike it out on their own, I have a theory:
--> Spineless men with low self-esteem will be the downfall of our age. People who can't say "NO" to their bosses; People who fire good people who help around the office sans tracking their billable hours to the last second; People who hire yes-men. I'm not sure if this slow eroding of all that is good can be partly attributed to the typical, rampant and growing atheism that has been prevalent in the last two decades, but this dull apathy is really infiltrating all aspects of our modern world right now.
To country houses, low-wage self-employment and happiness! Thanks for the Realms so far Ed! I'll keep 'em somewhere safe, and shine them once in a while... 
Edit: Ed, I think I want to write a book called "How to become a Hermit and still eat three times a day while owning your house." Any advice/input/recommendations?  |
Edited by - Purple Dragon Knight on 17 Sep 2007 03:35:11 |
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Neriandal Freit
Senior Scribe
USA
396 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 04:01:58
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My great appreciations Ed. I realized much of what you said after I awoke this morning thinking "Ok, wait. Ed and the others have tried to place Realms as a "Real World" world. Things like this do happen." but to such an extent and in such a short period is chaotic, and I suppose at the end of the day it fits the Realms proper.
Maybe it just bites the big one because I'm reading Lisa Smedmans books, and with the Timeline out now I go "Ok, so let's see...it's now almost logical that in the third book that Lloth gains more power from Ghaundura, leaving her and her daughter." Yet we still don't know the outcome (you might).
Then you got something like your scene in EL's Daughter which was just a "she's a person." moment. That's something I don't get to experience very often and fear I won't get to really understand and relate to in the 'new' Realms. I love it when Elaine writes anything about Lirel. She is such a powerful, true and real character and I hate to ponder now that within ten years of the newest venture we briefly got to see with her and her girls, and how powerful she was already becoming within Mystra's following, it could be gone. (Although I hope she isn't. Or her father)
It's just alot of things I can personally relate to and feel that are in peril now (as I know you better understand then any of us (well, besides that woman standing in the corner there giving me that smile)) to be gone to the winds for ever.
Thank you, I appreciate it! May have came off differently had I had sleep before I read everything like I did last night. I will certainly post (or hope that another contact here) will let you know when the Compendium comes out with my Redeemers. Been told they're 'unique' which is hard for the Realms.
Edit: In other words, I will remain loyal (albeit my buying of any new books will be very select unless they involve something of major interest) will slim down until I see what we got going on. |
"Eating people is wrong...unless it's on the first date." - Ed Greenwood, GenCon Indy 2006 |
Edited by - Neriandal Freit on 17 Sep 2007 04:04:20 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 04:22:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
I wish to add to my previous post that the 'revelation' about Hesperdan's potential identity in 'Swords of Dragonfire' was a brilliant and absolutely chilling piece of Realmslore - my thanks for it! =)
I might as well ask. Am I just crazy, or is Hesperdan a secret identity of Elminster? There are some clues in Hesperdan's appearances that have lead me to wonder such. It's silly, I know...
I also want to say a big THANK YOU to Ed and THO for discussing the 4E changes with us. Ed said a much more than I thought he would, and it means a lot. The Realms is a second home for me, the place I go to when I need to "escape" for a while. To see it changed so much is utterly heartbreaking.
Take care,
RF |
"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) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 17 Sep 2007 04:23:31 |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 04:30:56
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I hate to sound like I'm chiming in just so say "me too," but I really do appreciate the time that Ed and THO have taken to address some of the concerns that we might have about the potential changes to the Realms. I may not be following the Realms into 4th edition, but I have loved the place for 20 years, so I am loathe to give it up entirely.
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 04:34:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
I wish to add to my previous post that the 'revelation' about Hesperdan's potential identity in 'Swords of Dragonfire' was a brilliant and absolutely chilling piece of Realmslore - my thanks for it! =)
I might as well ask. Am I just crazy, or is Hesperdan a secret identity of Elminster? There are some clues in Hesperdan's appearances that have lead me to wonder such. It's silly, I know...
Ed has dropped a few hints re: Hesperdan. What I can glean is that Hesperdan exists as a very powerful, shadowy figure within the Zhentarim who basically allowed Manshoon and now Fzoul to be the head honcho of the organisation (for reasons unknown) and that Elminster, knowing this, masquerades as Hesperdan on occasion to muck about with Zhent plots and personnel OR Elminster IS Hesperdan, using this guise to destabilize the Zhentarim on needful occasions. Ed hasn't seen fit to confirm which is the correct theory but did obliquely state that one was correct.
And this from Ed, in Jan '06 -
"You’re very, very welcome, George. As always. I salute you as a tireless Lorelord of the Realms, rescuing us all time and time again.
As to why “How Wisdom Came To The Maimed Wizard” made you think Elminster has been masquerading as Hesperdan (or may be Hesperdan)? Must be the very broad hints I wrote into it.
I’ll keep to hinting rather than confirming outright, but someone dwelling in the Realms who attended certain Magefairs would insist that El and Hesperdan are two separate people (because they were seen in the same place at the same time, though not actually standing and talking together). Which of course strengthens the “masquerading as” possibility (the other weakening further when one considers how hard it would be to do all that El does and still have time to put in any appearances as Hesperdan at all: a Zhent whose survival may well be imperilled, in such an authoritarian organization, by unexplained absences). Which in turn raises the why (exactly) is Elminster adopting the guise of Hesperdan, and also HOW is he managing it (is Hesperdan in cahoots with him? Under his total domination? Can be subsumed mentally, as El “takes over” the body, due to some already-cast spell or curse or . . .?
We just don’t know. Yet. I can let slip that Hesperdan has an important future role to play, but we may not see much of it “onstage,” as it were.
Which should leave a lot of scribes going: Hmmm.
Which is as good a place as any to take my leave. :}
So saith Ed. Slyly bailing old dog that he is.
Oh, yes: he hasn’t forgotten that Gerath Hoan asked about Hesperdan, too, and hopes G - H will see from this reply that for the nonce Ed can’t be more specific about the mysterious Hesperdan . . .
love,
THO"
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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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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 04:38:08
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Thank you for posting that, Sage--I had never seen that bit of lore before. So, that leaves me...right back where I started.
Take care,
RF |
"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 - 17 Sep 2007 : 05:06:38
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And you'll see Hesperdan at work again (though perhaps not actually onstage) in THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS, the third Knights novel. Ed also tells me that Vangey and Alusair have more than one "confrontation," we get glimpses of Lady Targrael and our old friends the Spurbrights, and . . . and there's this sword, that doesn't sleep, see?
Ed will return with more Realmslore on the morrow, I hope. He was wrting something in a hurry for someone to use re. the Emmys, I understand.
love to all,
THO |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 05:10:18
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And you'll see Hesperdan at work again (though perhaps not actually onstage) in THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS, the third Knights novel. Ed also tells me that Vangey and Alusair have more than one "confrontation," we get glimpses of Lady Targrael and our old friends the Spurbrights, and . . . and there's this sword, that doesn't sleep, see?
Ed will return with more Realmslore on the morrow, I hope. He was wrting something in a hurry for someone to use re. the Emmys, I understand.
love to all,
THO
Oh boy, more "too arrogant for her own good" Lady Targrael. That should be interesting...
Good to know we'll see more of Hesperdan, too! |
"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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jaydemoon
Acolyte
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 07:38:08
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Hi. All standard praises apply ;)
My question is on Shadowdancers. In Faerun, what are the ties (if any) between Shadowdancers, Shadows (undead creatures), the Plane of Shadows, the Shadovar, the Shadow Weave, and the Goddess Shar?
All of a Shadowdancers powers come from an affinity with something that is often lumped into 'evil' and 'darkness'. The plane of Shadows is a scary evil place, Shadows are evil, life hating undead, etc.
Yet Shadowdancers themselves can be good and are often played a mischievous and fun loving.
So I'm often unsure how to run situations in which Shadowdancers are dealing with antagonists that come from shadow. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 19:00:30
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Hi, all. Ed of the Greenwood returns with a Realmslore reply, this time to Foxhelm’s query: “ Here's an interesting question: Can the shockwave from a smokepowder explosion put out a fire? I know in the real world that a low explosive like Blackpowder can't do it, but a higher explosive can.
Or could a wizard use a sonic burst to put out a fire? Cause I know that a low frequency sonic pressure wave can put out fire from the real world.
(Information gained from a Mythbuster Episode)”
Ed responds:
Yes to both (smokepowder and sonic burst). However, conditions have to be “just right,” so it happens very rarely.
Most smokepowder explosions are too small, and the fire isn’t the right distance from the blast, or there are obstacles or uneven ground between that means the fire might be scattered (sometimes flaming embers are hurled quite a distance, to start other fires), lessened, or temporarily disrupted, rather than extinguished.
Sonic bursts manage it more often, because wizards who practice casting them get to know just where and how to unleash those magics to quell a fire. A mage who’s never done it before under the specific conditions, or not recently, however, is still unlikely to get the fire completely out. Moreover, neither extinguishment method is effective against huge fires (entire city block aflame, or a big siege tower) or “creeping” fires (smouldering hay, a seam of clay, or leafy forest dirt burning underground and flaring up from time to time aboveground).
So it CAN be done, but . . .
So saith Ed, Mythbuster watcher. He met them two GenCons back, and has always been struck by how much one of them resembles Zeb Cook (as Zeb looked in the days of TSR).
love to all,
THO
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 22:10:23
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
So saith Ed, Mythbuster watcher. He met them two GenCons back, and has always been struck by how much one of them resembles Zeb Cook (as Zeb looked in the days of TSR).
love to all,
THO
They're gamers? Wow...   (I watch that show occasionally, too!) |
"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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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 17 Sep 2007 : 22:50:22
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And you'll see Hesperdan at work again (though perhaps not actually onstage) in THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS, the third Knights novel. Ed also tells me that Vangey and Alusair have more than one "confrontation," we get glimpses of Lady Targrael and our old friends the Spurbrights, and . . . and there's this sword, that doesn't sleep, see?
I wonder if this is a reference to 'The Sleeping Sword' of Cormyr, which would be very exciting, indeed!
Milady, please pass on the following questions to Ed (I seem to be getting more and more forgetful by each passing year -- I was supposed to ask these in my previous "list" ;)
7) Apparently the village of Drawn Swords is built on the site where an orc realm or kingdom was 'shattered' -- what can you tell about this orcish realm and its history?
8) Based on what little knowledge I have about oral storytelling traditions of Ancient Greece, I personally suspect that most storytellers did not actually memorize complete tales by heart. Instead, they might have improvised a lot with memorized 'parts' or chapters, which would have led to many variations of these tales (evident if you take a look at Homer's Odyssey). Is this how oral storytelling works in the Realms, too, or do bards and storytellers actually seek to faithfully memorize all the songs, stories, poetry and tales by heart? (Finder Wyvernspur's frantic efforts to 'record' his songs would indicate that they -- and any sort of 'recording magics' -- are rare folk, indeed).
9) How much local traditions affect 'generally' known folktales or songs in the Realms, and are there any such that could be compared to our world's 'Little Red Riding Hood' (for example)? Do the subjects and genres vary a lot by region, such as fables and fairy tales being more common in the Dalelands and the North ("Beware of the Big Bad Wolf of Malar!" ;) and is there typically a 'lesson' included in such stories?
10) Have there ever been any sort of 'compilations' of such tales or songs, such as 'The Collected Folktales of the North', or do bards (for example) prefer to write down (publish) only their own works? (In essence, I'm asking if any wandering bards, sages or storytellers have ever been interested in spending years on gathering regional oral tradition?)
11) Are there any ('as yet unrevealed in canon Realmslore') famous 'master storytellers' -- especially those who are renown for their excellent memory (e.g. they remember a thousand different stories and songs 'as they were originally written')? I could very well picture such people being constantly harassed by individual bards and the priesthoods of Deneir and Oghma (and even the Sages of Candlekeep ;)
My humble thanks once again! =) |
"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 |
Edited by - Asgetrion on 18 Sep 2007 00:31:55 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2007 : 00:10:14
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Hi, Asgetrion. Your Question 8, above, breaks off in mid-sentence. Before I shuttle these off to Ed, would you like to stitch the missing words back on?
love,
THO |
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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2007 : 00:34:01
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi, Asgetrion. Your Question 8, above, breaks off in mid-sentence. Before I shuttle these off to Ed, would you like to stitch the missing words back on?
love,
THO
Ah, what did I say about becoming more and more forgetful?
Thanks, Milady -- it's fixed now! |
"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2007 : 05:31:17
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Hi again, all. Another swift, short reply by Ed to a recent and straightforward Realmslore question by Blueblade (shades of the “quickies” from the end of 2006): “The terrain and "cover" around Everlund: how wild is it? How easy is it for, say, a "good at what they do" orc raiding party to sneak up to the edges of Everlund by night without being seen by average joes (I'm not talking "can scan with magic" types, here), smelled by stabled horses or livestock hobbled outdoors in paddocks, etc.? Thanks”
Ed replies:
Everlund has both a traditional cobbled-streets, built-up central area, and extensive “verges” (suburbs, if you like, though I hate that word when applied to any non-real-world setting) that consist of wooded rolling hills where many mansions, keeps, and more modest cottages stand (some of them hidden in trees, some of them tucked between hills in their own little “dells,” and a few of them crowning hilltops. The hills are small, with few rocky outcrops and a lot of topsoil, meadows are found wherever the trees have been cit back, and the area is very well watered (lots of ponds and springs).
In short, there’s a LOT of cover, and a skilled raiding party can sneak up on or even “between and past” these edges-of-Everlund dwellings with comparative ease. Yes, some magic is used for spying and warning systems, when trouble is expected, but not everyone has access to magic, or would spend it on such a “small precious candle in the great darkness” use.
So saith Ed. Creator of Everlund, of course.
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Verghityax
Learned Scribe
131 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2007 : 13:11:33
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Dear Ed and beloved Lady Hooded One,
I've got a question concerning Daerlun. I hope it is not under NDA. In the 2nd edition 'Adventures' sourcebook there is a map of Daerlun. However it has only four locations marked. If it is possible I would like to know where on the map are the following locations:
1. The Black Banner Inn
2. Alask's Arrow
3. The Mighty Mace
4. The Old Plough
5. HQ of Firehands Group Trading Coster
6. Dwellings of any of the following individuals: Aerbront, Elmareen Whistestone, Sandar Kathklan, Harlyn Grimmerhand, Minthalar Many-eyed, Othnyl Risingstone.
And one more thing. Is Halath Tymmyr still the nominal ruler of the city and is Allathast still commander of the guard. I realize that I ask for much, therefore I will be very grateful for any info Ed could provide me with. |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2007 : 21:24:59
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| Well met! Ed has made it clear that divine magic on Toril comes solely from the gods, so I wonder how Ed would suggest dealing with Heroes of Horror classes like the Archivist and Death Delver (?) who can cast divine spells using "prayerbooks" in the first case and some mysterious and unknown source in the second? Is it possible on Toril to cast "divine" spells by channeling the unthinking forces of positive and negative energy, or must some deity focus that power into clerical magic? |
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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eiglos
Acolyte
United Kingdom
12 Posts |
Posted - 18 Sep 2007 : 22:59:14
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Many thanks Ed for the kind words regarding my Priestess of Lurue. I shall see what the future holds for the Realms and Lurue. Many thanks too for all the Realmslore you and The Hooded One bring to us all.
Is there any word yet on the more recent history of the Knights of the Unicorn or is the dreaded NDA still in force?
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Edited by - eiglos on 19 Sep 2007 19:14:23 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2007 : 01:54:03
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Hello again, fellow scribes. This time Ed makes reply to words scribe Victor_ograygor asked me to forward to him: “Ed I hope that we one day are going to here your personally wives on the changes on Forgotten Realms, and not only that we have to take it easy and see what happens. Sorry if I offend you with my Pirate ship terrorises but these changes are absolutely ridicules. I have been a gamer since some of the first FR material came out and our group now (oldies) still gather and play FR, and we all agree that these changes a really not you at all. I really feel that a line should be drawn here, from both gamers and designers.
I am sorry to say that I (we) are not going to buy these 4 ed changes and I hope and think that many other gamers are going to follow these foot steps.
Ps: A man working on a pirate ship is either a slave ore a pirate
And a slave usually doesn’t have anything to say…”
Ed replies:
Hi, Victor. I quite understand how you (and your group) feel, and I’m not going to say that you’re wrong or try to convince you otherwise. You should do what works for you as a gamer, just all the rest of us should. Many of the original Realms players had a “WTF?” reaction, initially, too, but being gamers, they will peek at 4e before deciding: gamers always have to look at the new stuff to see what it’s really like.
I’m a gamer, so: So do I.
I asked everyone to wait and see because that’s all any of us (yes, including me!) can do, thus far. We haven’t seen enough to know how “good” or “bad” things are going to be. I am hearing a lot of negative opinion, but haven’t seen much of what those opinions are based on. Yes, “one day” I will have my say on the changes, when the time is right. It’s not right yet, because I haven’t seen the changes (nor do I think any one product will reveal them all, at once).
I will stick with the Realms because I love it and created it and have spent forty years working on it and intend that it shall be the best it can be, for everyone (old fans, new fans, fiction-only readers, Wizards; EVERYONE). I will keep on trying to do that. I know many of the staff members of Wizards of the Coast personally, and they don’t strike me as evil, or non-gamers, or people who are either stupid or bad-natured. I’m waiting to see what they do to the Realms (because that’s all I CAN do: wait).
But as for your pirate ship comment: I’m not working on the pirate ship.
Right now, I’m forty years back from current (“old,” if you prefer) Realmstime, finishing the third Knights of Myth Drannor novel.
In other words, I’m what I’ve always been: a hard-working slave on a grand old ship that I built and a lot of other people have improved, that’s been sailing along these forty years, and certainly hasn’t gone “pirate” yet.
You seem to think I am on the staff of Wizards of the Coast (which I have NEVER been, nor yet its predecessor, TSR). I am a gamer, a freelancer who doesn’t even live in the same country as the publisher of the game. If I’m working on that pirate ship, then every gamer who proposed, wrote, and managed to get published an article for DRAGON or DUNGEON is, too. As an analogy, your pirate ship scenario just doesn’t hold, and because it describes the situation so inaccurately, is, yes, offensive (just as many of your countrymen probably don’t like being confused with the native inhabitants of Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Norway by someone who says “those people who live in that part of the world, they’re all the same,” right?). The company OWNS the game; what they do with it just can’t accurately be described as "piracy."
However, that’s your opinion and you’re perfectly entitled to it. Though when THO and I both tell you you’re wrong, in something pertaining to the Realms, I would listen if I were you; arguing with us is, to borrow your word, “ridiculous.”
Yet I say again: wait and see. By “see,” I mean have a look at that new FRCS when it comes out (no, I don’t mean buy it, necessarily; plenty of folks will be discussing it and stores will have it for you to eyeball and no doubt Wizards will have previews on their website). If you hate it, then you probably will have to step back from buying new FR products. Which of course DOESN’T mean saying farewell to the Realms; it just makes it yours, to run as you will (and I’m sure many other scribes will be improvising their own futures for the Realms, just as you are, if ideas ever fail your group).
When that new FRCS comes out, ask me again about the “new” Realms, okay? I'll be perfectly happy to chat with you again, now or then. Anyone who's played in the Realms since the Old Gray Box is great in my books!
Ed
So saith Ed. Creator of the Realms, and its most faithful booster and detailer, down all the years.
love to all,
THO
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Edited by - The Hooded One on 19 Sep 2007 01:54:54 |
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Wandering_mage
Senior Scribe
688 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2007 : 02:08:34
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| I am moved to see such emotion in your reply Ed. Hang in there friend. |
Illum
The Wandering Mage |
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Warrax
Learned Scribe
Canada
128 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2007 : 02:15:38
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| A wonderful and passionate reply, as befitting its author. Thanks for that. |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3563 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2007 : 02:35:53
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Thats why we love Ed.
Passion.
Truth. Without BS. Even if it is not what someone wants to hear.
Honor.
Willingness to go the extra mile for us.
P.S. Were also pretty damn impressed that THO regards him so highly!!!
P.S.S. Or are we jealous??? |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Agis_of_Asticles
Acolyte
Brazil
17 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2007 : 03:33:29
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Hi Ed/THO,
I´m DMing a FR campaign, 3rd edition, but I'm aways looking for information at 2nd edition sourcebooks.
Reading the Wizards and Rogues of the Realms, I saw a refernce to the Guild of Shadows at the introductory text of the Shadow Walkers.
In my searchs for this guild and their members [the shadow walkers] at the 3rd edition books, I can't find anything about those. Is there some FR 3rd edition book that explain this class and your organization?
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Sorry guys. Bad english, I know.
“While the wise may worship, only fools bow and wait.”
A North’s saying [FR]
Suporting the petition to our local [Brazil] publisher of Wizards [Devir] to publish more translated books. [http://www.petitiononline.com/DevirRPG/petition.html] |
Edited by - Agis_of_Asticles on 19 Sep 2007 03:35:14 |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2007)
Topic Locked
