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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 01 Nov 2010 :  12:24:18  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on millers in Cormyr

Cheers

Damian
******************************

Although the miller is sometimes a tenant, in a mill owned by a local noble family (usually because they were a creditor to a miller who went bust), most Cormyrean millers own their own mills. Important note: millers hold a royal licence that allows them to dam/constrict the free flow of the watercourse, and it can be revoked if they misbehave (under-report their milling to evade taxes, refuse to mill anyone's grain, steal from those who bring them grain to be milled by taking more than their share of the milled result, etc.). Meaning their mill is shut down, its grindstones removed. They can then either pay fines and plead to have it reopened, or sell it to someone else to run. Long ago, one miller refused to recognize the authority of the crown over him, and burned down his mill after it was shut down. A member of the royal family was on hand to witness the defiance, and with his permission, a local War Wizard shut the miller inside his own privy, which became the man's pyre when the flames from the mill reached it.
(This mill lore is all paraphrased from Ed's notes, by me.)

love to all,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005

Edited by - crazedventurers on 01 Nov 2010 12:27:58
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 07 Nov 2010 :  00:31:25  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on Wizards of War, the records they keep and the blood they shed

Cheers

Damian
********************************

Hi again, all.
Mr. Miscellany, here's a first stab at some answers, from me (Ed will bat cleanup, in my wake, when he has the opportunity):
War Wizard writings are secret, scattered and hidden, coded, and sparse: forbidden about most topics, though all of the things you mention are recorded somewhere, somehow (Alaphondar and his predecessors are one place to ask for them, as is the current Court Wizard, which from Vangerdahast onwards has been a post held by the Royal Magician rather than, as formerly, a separate one).
No, there's no "instant recall" in any Royal Magician's head. There ARE some "magically-recorded remembrances" captured in items that can be accessed by anyone with sufficient skill-at-Art, who knows where the items are and how to handle them. "Some," I said, not a lot. There's no such thing as an existing coherent and comprehensive history of the War Wizards, so if the Crown for some reason wanted such a thing, they'd have to try to cobble it together by asking all sorts of people. Vangerdahast is really the font of knowledge for the "modern" Wizards of War, and he's still around, but getting to speak to him, and even more importantly convincing him to give truthful answers, is going to be VERY difficult for anyone but the reigning monarch . . . and even they will have no way of knowing, most of the time, if he's lying or omitting important details of the truth.
The novels depict the War Wizards dashing about not giving reasons largely because the novels tend to highlight crises/moments of peril/combat and confrontation. However, the War Wizards are NOT in the habit of explaining themselves, just as real-world police and government agents will only reveal or share the information they want to, not submit to on the street interrogations by any average citizen they may speak with. Journal writing by active (not retired) War Wizards is forbidden unless it's kept coded and hidden, and even retired War Wizards risk reprisals if they reveal state secrets (under some Royal Magicians and some monarches, that also seems to extend to "relating anything embarrassing about us").
All War Wizards give vials of blood as part of their initiation or shortly before or after. I'll leave it to Ed about hair, etc. because I'm not certain of the details.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 12 Nov 2010 :  11:50:04  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on Cormytes remembering the dead

Cheers

Damian
*******************************

Hi, Damian. Ed will have to make proper answer, of course, but the short version is this: that the morning of the Feast of the Moon is devoted to last-minute preparations, around highsun there's a Call (warhorns, from battlements) and then a march (to slow music) for the war fallen (civilian casualties as well as soldiery) from a fortress or waypost through a village/town/city to a monument (or lacking that, temple, or lacking THAT, a market square or known war grave). There's a ceremony there, then usually an inspiraional speech about the realm being strong and a bright future for Cormyr, then the feast begins, and goes well into the night, being eating and drinking and spoken remembrances of the dead (everybody's dead, that is; all the ancestors and their tales and toasts and salutes and thanks to them).
love,
THO


So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore

Germany
1720 Posts

Posted - 22 Dec 2010 :  08:36:52  Show Profile Send Ergdusch a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The other day I came acorss a new NPC to add to my list of people of Cormyr:

Rogart Perilhaven, a 9th level Ranger of neutral good alignment, being on a secret spy mission to Corm Orp for Cormyr.

He is mentioned/introduced in 'Training Grounds', an adventure from Dungeon Magazine #67, p. 34.


"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht."
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore

Poland
1190 Posts

Posted - 26 Dec 2010 :  13:51:39  Show Profile  Visit Zireael's Homepage Send Zireael a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The link to "A Moment with Alusair" (pg. 3 of this scroll) doesn't work.

SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!

http://zireael07.wordpress.com/
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:35:47  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed on a bumbling Wizard of War (or three!)

Cheers

Damian
********************************

From the early years of the War Wizards, one "Forndel Leshingbroke" was a notorious bumbler.
A far more recent bungler, who often caused Vangerdahast to erupt in seething rages, was "Vorn Nuskarm."
THE legendary/infamous paramount War Wizard accident-prone incompetent, known to all Cormyreans thanks to expressions like "a real Doraunk, he was" and "worthy of Doraunk himself!" that are daily applied to pratfalls and screwups by citizens the realm over (who may not know who Doraunk was) is Phelndur Doraunk, who flourished, if that's the right term, chronologically between Leshingbroke and Nuskarm.


So saith Ed. Who will add more when he can.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:38:39  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed on Korvan the cook and why it's best not to 'doctor' food in the Royal Court

Cheers

Damian

*************************************

Hi, Red Walker. I can, and your suspicions are correct. Here's the short version: Korvan is the sort of man who always wants what he can't have (what's beyond his reach). He's lusty, and beauty and sophistication (such as a well-dressed, "on public show" noblewoman) smite him hard.
As a lowly Palace cook in Cormyr, he "fell" for several noblewomen attending Palace functions and revels, that he glimpsed from afar. He wanted them. He HAD to have them. And he wanted to be seen with them, to make it into that small circle of laughing, chattering "favorites" among the Palace staff and commoners whom they kept brief social company with, in their busy social mostly-spent-with-other-nobles lives. That is, the favored fashion designers, hairdressers, wits and bon vivants, and so on. Roles he entirely lacked the looks, manners, and smarts to ever attain or keep.
So he sought to conquer them covertly, by working "love potions" into the food he was preparing, herbal concoctions and liquids he could introduce into particular servings, to affect the eaters thereof.
Unfortunately for Korvan, one of the backstreets sources he contacted for these illicit concoctions (in Cormyr, by caselaw and decree, neither food nor wine can be "doctored" with other substances that aren't "only" flavourings or part of standard food preparation, except by priests for holy reasons and herbalists working under the supervision of a recognized healer, or by courtiers obeying certain senior courtiers, like the Royal Magician, Royal Sage, etc.) was both a "trader in shadies" AND a paid informant of the Crown, with very firm instructions to rat out EVERY person, high or low, who so much as hinted at wanting to purchase poisons or mind-altering or harmful substances [[including tamer stuff that "only" induces nausea, poor balance, vomiting or the runs, because all of these can be employed to aid thieves, gamblers, and those seeking to win trade negotiations]]. Korvan was watched, and observed to try to taint some servings with what he later confessed (under War Wizard spell-aided questioning) were "love potions."
The substances he was sold didn't work for the purpose he thought they did, so he didn't actually affect anyone's feelings towards him, or do any harm except subtly alter the tastes of some food. However, the INTENT was there, and members of the Obarskyr family MIGHT have been affected secondhand (e.g. by kissing, or even sharing the food of, someone Korvan had targeted), so Korvan got "a thorough scare" from the War Wizards, plus exile.
Which is how he ended up in Sembia, at various short-lived cooking jobs (the man had a temper, plus a newfound paranoia: thinking undercover Cormyrean agents were watching him), and eventually made his way to Highmoon in Deepingdale.
An unlovely man (lazy, mean to cruel, rude and bullying, and unable to control his lusts), but a good all-around cook.


So saith Ed. Who believes you're the first to really ask about Korvan since a long-ago TSR editor, so the first time any of this has been publicly told.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005

Edited by - crazedventurers on 04 Jan 2011 10:39:07
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:40:19  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed with more on Queen Fee

Cheers

Damian
**************************
No, Filfaeril was never a Chosen. A great woman, a Harper ally, a noble and a very capable queen, who has secrets as yet unrevealed that may never be told - - but not a Chosen. Of Mystra or any other deity.
And as for the authorship of that naughty chapbook . . . now, now. :} We're looking for the name of an IN-REALMS character. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!


So saith Ed. Who seems to be back on lore duty! Hurray!
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:43:31  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed on non-human claimants to the Dragon Throne

Cheers

Damian
**************************************

Hi, Wooly. I have to be careful what I say here, due to two outstanding NDAs (which, yes, should lead everyone to suspect that this is a topic that has already been considered amongst Realms creatives). The short answer to all four of these queries is that reactions would be 'all over the map,' so to speak.
Vangey (or his successors) are primarily concerned with the stability of the Dragon Throne. HOW they will guard the throne depends on who it is doing the guarding (Vangey or Caladnei or . . .), what the situation is in the kingdom, and what events unfold.
There will always be nobles who will fiercely oppose any non-pureblood-human vying for the throne, and fight one who seizes it. Then again, there will always be nobles who seize on any pretender, potential usurper, or rival claimant to the current holder of the throne, and advance this challenge to the reigning monarch or regent, for reasons of personal gain, or to "reform" the realm, or for other reasons specific to them.
Individual Obarskyrs will have a wide variety of reactions to any rival/newcomer (but will tend to resist "bastards" in favor of the kin they know, except as pawns/allies against specific kin they hate or fear, because there are SO many bastards around already, and they would rather support and work with bastards they know well, and personally like. War Wizards and many senior-in-years nobles will react in the same way, and for the same reasons . . . but it's important to remember that there are no "class-wide" reactions to claimants, half-dragon or otherwise.
Or to put it another way, not all commoners will think X, all nobles think X or Y, and all royals think X or Y or Z. Everyone will react individually.
If any stereotypes about Cormyreans can be advanced, there will be general prejudices like this: we prefer humans we know, and know to be Cormyrean born and bred and resident, over humans who "come out of nowhere" or are known to have been far away from Cormyr for some time. We will prefer humans over non-humans (such as elves; many oldblood families, noble or common, believe "Cormyr" is a human land wrested from elves who should never be allowed to return to anything resembling power, locally) and we will prefer human-like, "civilized" non-humans (elves, halflings, gnomes, dwarves) over known-to-be-dangerous races (half-orcs, orcs and goblins, etc.), and those "evil folk" over "monstrous half-breeds" (shapechangers, lizardfolk-like half-dragons with scales and tails and other obvious "this ain't a human" features.
That isn't to say that certain nobles and wizards of Cormyr (including War Wizards) won't be fascinated by a half-dragon, and their potential power, or with elves of the lineage of Iliphar (and more than one such individual is known to exist, in Cormyr, though the Royal Court isn't certain of all of their identities or whereabouts) . . . but the general bulk of the populace is going to want a human king or queen, preferably of the House of Obarskyr or failing that bastard offspring of the traceable blood of the Obarskyrs or perhaps Baerauble, and failing that of one of the oldblood families (and at this point, of course, the fierce struggle over WHICH ruling family would erupt, probably into open civil war).
Yet Cormyr will always be a place where bastards and other throne claimants wait in the wings, supported by this or that cabal of nobles and watched by the War Wizards and various Crown agents.
A half-dragon claimant who can claim AND PROVE (to most who care) descent from both Thauglor and Azoun IV would have a stronger claim (and public support) than any other half-dragon, but by no means more than the scores to hundreds of human Cormyreans who can claim and prove Azoun IV's involvement in their ancestry, or Obarskyr blood from other monarchs (or princes, who at the time of the dalliances hadn't yet come to the throne).
In fact, what keeps Cormyr from erupting in civil strife often is the counterbalance between SO MANY possible (weak) claimants. Eliminate all fullblood Obarskyrs, and all of those claimants come into play, yes, but then it becomes a game of "who can stay alive?" among the claimants.
And remember: a half-dragon would probably still have a claim that was weaker in public support than, say, a certain ghazneth with the last name Cormaeril . . .


So saith Ed. Who has talked at great length with TSR and later WotC designers about such matters, I happen to know (because I eavesdrop shamelessly when it suits me to do so).
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:46:17  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on family time for Azoun the Fourth's bastards

Cheers

Damian
************************

Menelvagor, Ed will provide you a proper answer when he can, but we (that is, his players plus Ed) have talked about this a bit in the past, after some revelations in Realmsplay, and the Obarskyrs spend more time with bastard kin WHO DON'T KNOW THEY'RE BASTARD KIN than they do with the "known" ones (because there's less tension/danger to the kin/kin trying to take advantage/etc.).
However, swift generalities can themselves be perilous, so I'll leave it to Ed to say more.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:51:04  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on The Knights of Myth Drannor

Cheers

Damian
**********************

Oh, yes, indeed. The Purple Dragons are predisposed to be suspicious of adventurers who have a personal "in" with the royals (where did they come from, how did they get this tie, how will they [mis]use it in future?), and Vangey sharpened that suspicion to a cutting edge with HIS attitude towards us.
Some courtiers liked us and some didn't, some War Wizards ditto, and some Purple Dragons ditto (but Purple Dragon officers were of two sorts: commoners who'd risen from merit and experience and kept an eye on us as adventurers but weren't automatically hostile towards us...and nobles who were jealous of us or disliked us because of our close association with the royals.
None of which was helped by the habit some Obarskyrs fell into of using us as a strike force of not-so-secret "outside normal channels" agents, when it suited them.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:52:33  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed on temples and shrines in Suzail

Cheers

Damian
*******************************

Hi again, all.
See, Ed tells me it's not a law (or city zoning; no such thing exists, beyond the absolute power of the Crown to expropriate land and structures for particular, usually wartime, purposes) or curse that caused this.
It was the result of clergy buying large but decaying warehouses, paddocks, and smithies on the eastern side of the city (as the former and latter shut down, and the paddocks were relocated outside the walls), razing them, and building newer, grander, and larger temples and shrines there (relocating from older, more modest, and more cramped central city premises).
There ARE shrines to other deities in the central city blocks (often "upstairs" or "downcellar" in buildings that have other uses [shops, usually] on their ground floors).
In general, the dockside areas are warehousing and fish-packing and drydock facilities rather than housing; the nobles and the rich live in northernmost Suzail, north of the Promenade if possible and close to the Palace if you're wealthy enough and highest and haughty amongst the nobility, westwards as your wealth and power go down; the poor live in westernmost Suzail (slums along the inside the southwestern end of the city wall); military along the easternmost wall, particularly closest to the harbor; and everyone else lives in the middle, the most expensive (and grandest) properties being either easterly, or close to the Promenade (or both).


So saith Ed (I've paraphrased him here very lightly).
love,
THO
P.S. He tells me he was busy doing some hush-hush "rush" Realms work today . . . so it's still going on, scribes! Bwooohahahahah, and so forth...

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  10:58:01  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed on how Kings and Queens should be introduced

Cheers

Damian
**************************
Where a published Realms product might refer to "Azoun IV," the Roman numeral is unknown in the Realms. The same person is actually referred to, by heralds or sages in the Realms, as "Azoun of Cormyr, fourth reigning Obarskyr of that name" but we render it into a Roman numeral for ease of understanding and to save space

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  11:07:01  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed on some of Alusair's swords with additions from Garen Thal and addendums from THO.

Cheers

Damian
***************************

As aforementioned, the Princess Alusair has favored quite an array of personal blades throughout her life, from the short, curved Blue Dragon naval cutlass she adopted in an early flash of rebellious independence, at age eleven, through a succession of rapiers and long swords, to the two swords she usually wears on a daily basis today (1370s DR): a superbly-made but complete non-magical shortsword she calls “My Kiss” and a +2 lucky longsword of illusion theft, impedance, and vanishing named “Brightedge.” (This dragonhoard weapon was a gift to her, in the summer of 1369 DR, from a certain veteran Harper after she saved his life; a story kept secret from everyone except her parents, though Vangerdahast has tried all manner of underhanded means to learn it, and pieced together much of it.)
That first cutlass and most of her other swords, including the two pieces of the bastard sword she broke over the head of the rebel noble Raldrand Hargryphon in a nasty little brawl in the King’s Forest in the fall of 1362 DR, when he tried to ambush and slay her, hang on the long, windowless inner wall of the outer “receiving room” of her Royal Palace bedchamber suite, in Suzail.
They include:
• “Viper” (the non-magical, plain, rather battered secondhand cutlass)
• “Daunt-Don’t” (a non-magical “light little toy” [Alusair’s words] of a splendid-looking rapier that was made for her by Urnstul Hallowlar, a smith from Arabel who hoped to win favor and many orders from Court and nobility; Alusair found it gorgeous to look at but too short, light and “whippy” for real battle use—even before Hallowlar was murdered by certain merchants of Arabel who didn’t want the smith to have any royal favor or connections)
• “Bloodfee” (a workaday +1 longsword of superb make that was a gift from her mother, Queen Filfaeril; it bears an everbright enchantment, can feather fall [affecting any creatures grasping it or impaled on it, to a weight limit of 700 lbs.] upon command, glows with blue faerie fire upon command, and vibrates gently and silently when within 40 feet of undeath)
• “Defendress” (a massive, rather crude long sword that’s badly balanced and much too heavy for Alusair, but that she’s very proud of, because she had a hand in forging it, contributing some of her blood [yes, literally], and her sweat from a lot of hammer-work and more than one turn at the forge-bellows)
• “Royal Fury” (the “monsterslaying” bastard sword she broke over Raldrand Hargryphon’s head, rendering him mindless, as she singlehandedly defeated him and the four slayers he’d hired; its hilt retains one of its enchantments: when grasped and willed, it glows with blue faerie fire, and can be instantly turned on or off, without limit)
• “Challenge” (a non-magical, splendidly-made, and very battered two-handed sword that’s far too large and heavy for Alusair to want to use in battle, but that her father gave her, insisting she practice with it, fighting him as he wielded a leather-shod metal quarterstaff against her, to give her strength of arm, shoulders, and back; she grew to love those sessions, and still “shadow-feints” alone with the sword from time to time, before retiring to a bath and then bed)

These are by no means the only swords Alusair has wielded, or even hidden away in various caches all over the realm for her own use. She customarily carries at least four daggers (a visible one on her belt, spares sheathed down the insides of both boots, and one sheathed down her back that’s drawn from a nape-of-the-neck sheath, under her hair; the sheath rides the throat-strap of her gorget).



So saith Ed, who has searched a long time for the 1969 notes he needed to find to fully answer this one.
Let’s see what lies ahead, in his 2007 question. Will Wooly get lucky? (Ahem, I could have phrased that better, but let it stand . . .)
love to all,
THO


Garen Thal
Let us not forget "Old Tusk" and "Royal Kiss," as delivered by Ed back in 2007 (the 13th post on this page).

THO
Thanks for the reminder about Alusair’s longtime favourite blades, Garen Thal. Uzzy’s sword query was obviously one of the “answered but not well enough” questions Ed alluded to, and I suspect “Old Tusk” and “Royal Kiss” are still among the Steely One’s favourites, just not displayed up on her bedchamber wall. Probably scabbarded and ready under the bed or in a handy closet.

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2011 :  11:10:05  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed on 'dark things in the night' that parents use to scare their children to behave

Cheers

Damian
***************************
In Cormyr, Guthtarl will come for you! A fat, white-fleshed bastard son of an oldblood noble family who became a War Wizard but betrayed his country and was blinded and exiled for it (this is all true, except for the blinding, which is an embellishment; the real Guthtarl temporarily went blind after his exile, when a spell he was experimenting with “blew up” in his face), Guthtarl appears as a white, slime-glistening worm, a bulbously fat man from the waist up, and a giant dew-worm (in shape) from the waist down, though all of him can stretch out of shape to get through (sometimes very) thin places, like the opening under a door. He crawls along, blindly groping his way, somehow SMELLING bad children. He can cling to ceilings if need be, and cast silent spells that create deep shadow, to avoid detection by grownups, and WILL find bad children, and will grope for them with his cold, slimy, soft and deformed fingers . . . His touch brings on illnesses (usually nasty colds), and he can smell bad thoughts in the mind of someone he’s already visited, and will come back if they say or do anything bad, to grope again, every visit bringing something worse (usually warts or rashes, then witherings and reeking breath and explosively-voiding bowels . . .)


So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 05 Jan 2011 :  22:34:02  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on nobles becoming Wizards of War

Cheers

Damian
*************************

I can say one thing, by way of partial answer: YES, noble-born War Wizards face special covert scrutiny when they are first accepted into the Wizards of War (and start to operate as official War Wizards).
However, everything else will have to come from Ed. Who is busy right now with another secret rush Realmslore job.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005

Edited by - crazedventurers on 05 Jan 2011 22:44:43
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 05 Jan 2011 :  22:43:21  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on nobles and commoners and inheritance laws
Cheers

Damian
*******************

Mr_Miscellany, re, your second set of questions:

Over Cormyr’s history, have nobles ever been known to “poach” non-noble families in Cormyr (or hellz, outside of Cormyr) in order to gain access to that family’s skill set, riches or proclivity for producing children with talent in the Art? .

A: Oh, yes.

. . .
(note 1st part of the question added by me for clarity: suppose the eldest son of the Truesilvers marries the daughter of the head of the Thousandheads Trading Coster and she inherits the coster, do the truesilvers take it over?) A: NO

If not, does the daughter still own the operation separately (and for as long as she can resists attempts by her husband and other Truesilvers to meddle in operations)?

A: Yes.

Or has she lost all right to inheritance by virtue of becoming a noble?

A: No.

(I can answer these from Realmsplay experience, with Ed as DM. Specifics will have to come from him, of course.)

love to all,
THO


So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 10 Jan 2011 :  18:42:21  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on two trades goods that make steady profits in Suzail

Cheers

Damian
*******************
Hi again, all.
A proper answer will have to come from Ed, of course, but to start answering Damian's questions about Dawngleam (by paraphrasing my campaign notes from Ed): two consistent profitable cargoes to import into Suzail are:

1. Textiles (woven cloth of superior make and attractive hues/patterns, for Cormyrean tailors and seamstresses to fashion into garments). Importing finished garments can be much more profitable but is always riskier, because Cormyreans prefer local sizings and styles to "outland strangeness," abandoning this preference only for fairly rare fads (one or two instances a decade) and fashions (a fashion as defined here just being a long-lasting fad).

2. Good wines. Cormyr makes its own wines, but not enough to meet local demands, and some of it is poor (beer is far more often made in the Forest Kingdom). Some of that poor wine makes it into fortified wines (like sherry), but nobles and rising or wealthy merchants and others who have the coin and opportunity to become connoisseurs (take the time to "educate their palates") vastly prefer robust wines of superior quality, and fortified wines made with good wines, not poorer vintages. So such "slakes" as firewine are consistent bulk sellers in Cormyr; an importer can't go wrong.

So saith Ed, filtered through me. I await specific answers to your queries, once Ed is "over the hump" of his current rush writing job.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore

Germany
1720 Posts

Posted - 11 Jan 2011 :  06:54:19  Show Profile Send Ergdusch a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thank you crazed', once again, for bringing these interesting answers from Ed to our attention!

Much appreciated, as always!


Ergdusch

"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht."
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 12 Jan 2011 :  09:50:51  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
More from Ed on textiles and trade

Cheers

Damian
*****************************

And hello AGAIN.
Just got an e-mail from Ed about many, many things. Damian, here's the relevant stuff about the textiles:


Cormyr produces cloth (and finished clothing) of above-average to excellent quality, but their usual mix of livestock (wool) and crops (with so many mouths to feed; the naval traders sailing around the Inner Sea, and Sembia next door, have seemingly BOTTOMLESS appetites; Sembia has far too little agricultural land to feed itself, and the Moonsea has poor growing conditions, so the Dales can't feed everyone) makes local Cormyrean cloth expensive . . . versus cheaper, just as good or better, and fashionably exotic "outland" fabrics. Cormyrean peasants usually make all their own clothes, but prize scarves, gowns, and blouses of "flashy" foreign make. Almost all Cormyreans have a prejudice in favour of their own, Cormyr-made weathercloaks and winter woollen wear (leather gloves and aprons, too), but otherwise prize - - and usually pounce on - - "outland stuff" for most other garments.


So saith Ed. Who will of course furnish you a proper reply to your root question as soon as he can (right now, he's "beyond busy" again).
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore

United Kingdom
1073 Posts

Posted - 12 Jan 2011 :  09:52:40  Show Profile  Visit crazedventurers's Homepage Send crazedventurers a Private Message  Reply with Quote
THO on a main thoroughfare in Arabel, with an addendum about Thalonder

Cheers

Damian
***************************************

Hi, Ergdusch,
I can help you with your question.
The streets in Arabel have been named and renamed many times over the years, as the city has broken free of Cormyr, been reconquered, local personages have risen and fallen out of favour, and so on.
However, that main central avenue you speak of is quite clearly labeled on my 1979-era Ed-drawn "home Realms campaign" map of Arabel as:

Thalonder's Ride

(known in daily usage merely as "the Ride" to local citizens)

There you go. Anything to keep a fellow wayfarer in the Realms from getting lost in Arabel. Not that it's huge or hard to STAY lost; it's just that there are some back alleys a traveler wouldn't want to blunder into unprepared.
love,
THO

Addendum:
Hi again, all. Damian, I bring you a lightning-swift Ed answer, about Thalonder:


Ustrin Thalonder was the long-ago rebuilder of Arabel's city walls. He insisted on tearing down buildings in the heart of the city to make a direct path through Arabel, so defenders could move quickly if the city was attacked. (This was something city merchants had long resisted, in favor of keeping the maze of streets that slowed through caravan traffic and encouraged stopovers and local trading.)


So saith Ed. So there you are...
Obviously, "the Ride" was that main through street.
love,
THO

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005

Edited by - crazedventurers on 13 Jan 2011 08:27:16
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Azuth
Senior Scribe

USA
404 Posts

Posted - 24 Jan 2011 :  20:29:34  Show Profile  Visit Azuth's Homepage Send Azuth a Private Message  Reply with Quote

Apologies if this exists and I just can find it through the searches, but is there a matrix that lists all of the Mages Royal from Baerauble to Ganrahast and their corresponding Obarskyrs from Ondeth/Faerlthann to Foril?


May all your spells go off as intended.

Azuth, the first Magister
Lord of All Spells


Azuth, the First Magister
Lord of All Spells

The greatest expression of creativity is through Art.
Offense can never be given, only taken.

Edited by - Azuth on 24 Jan 2011 20:29:57
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Mr_Miscellany
Senior Scribe

545 Posts

Posted - 24 Jan 2011 :  20:38:47  Show Profile Send Mr_Miscellany a Private Message  Reply with Quote
There's a listing of all of Cormyr's Kings in...oh crap, Cranial Vapor Lock kicking in...was it Grand History of the Realms or Power of Faerûn?

[EDIT] The list can be found in Grand History.

"Cormyr: A Novel" lists all the known Royal Mages and gives a good bit of history about each.

I'd sure like to make a matrix of all of Cormyr's known War Wizards. Great, thanks for giving me an endless project, Azuth.

Edited by - Mr_Miscellany on 24 Jan 2011 20:40:12
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Azuth
Senior Scribe

USA
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Posted - 24 Jan 2011 :  21:25:56  Show Profile  Visit Azuth's Homepage Send Azuth a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I've read Cormyr several times. It just seems unclear to me that the entire lineage of the Mages Royal is listed. Also, Caledni is Vagerdahast's apprentice, but isn't of the blood of Baerauble, so is she just the equivalent of a steward until Ganrahast was capable of assuming the position? I may have to move this into the “Questions for Ed” section, but if the information already exists, I'll not bother him with the question.

Mr. Miscellany, perhaps you secretly worship Oghma? I hear he loves to torture scribes with midnight thoughts of great plot importance. Being a lesser power myself, I never get invited to the good parties.

Cheers,

Azuth, the First Magister
—Lord of all Spells—

quote:
Originally posted by Mr_Miscellany

There's a listing of all of Cormyr's Kings in...oh crap, Cranial Vapor Lock kicking in...was it Grand History of the Realms or Power of Faerûn?

[EDIT] The list can be found in Grand History.

"Cormyr: A Novel" lists all the known Royal Mages and gives a good bit of history about each.

I'd sure like to make a matrix of all of Cormyr's known War Wizards. Great, thanks for giving me an endless project, Azuth.


Azuth, the First Magister
Lord of All Spells

The greatest expression of creativity is through Art.
Offense can never be given, only taken.
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore

USA
1105 Posts

Posted - 24 Jan 2011 :  21:48:02  Show Profile  Visit Garen Thal's Homepage Send Garen Thal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Azuth

[font=Trebuchet MS]
Apologies if this exists and I just can find it through the searches, but is there a matrix that lists all of the Mages Royal from Baerauble to Ganrahast and their corresponding Obarskyrs from Ondeth/Faerlthann to Foril?
As mentioned above, Grand History lists all the monarchs, and Cormyr: A Novel includes all of the Mages Royal from Baerauble to Vangerdahast--though not when exactly they ascended their posts or took over from their counterparts.

This information exists, of course, but we're not allowed to start a-spouting it without WotC's okay.
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Garen Thal
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USA
1105 Posts

Posted - 24 Jan 2011 :  22:01:03  Show Profile  Visit Garen Thal's Homepage Send Garen Thal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Azuth

I've read Cormyr several times. It just seems unclear to me that the entire lineage of the Mages Royal is listed.
It's not listed. But it's suggested (and I'll confirm) that the progression is Baerauble-Amedahast-Thanderhast-Jorunhast-Vangerdahast-Caladnei-Ganrahast. The family tree, however, is a great big mystery.

Speaking of which...

quote:
Also, Caledni is Vagerdahast's apprentice, but isn't of the blood of Baerauble, so is she just the equivalent of a steward until Ganrahast was capable of assuming the position?
Now, who told you Caladnei wasn't descended from Baerauble? Or that Jorunhast was? Or that any of the stories about all these folk being descended from one great, powerful mage from centuries ago is actually true at all? None of this is stated by any reliable narrator anywhere in Realmslore (unless you believe Vangerdahast- ha!). For all we know, all the Mages Royal were told of some great family destiny, and took on modified names when assuming their mantle as eventual inheritors of the role.

Not that any of that stuff is a suggestion of anything but this: be careful what assumptions you make, when dealing with the Realms. What appears in text is one thing; what does not is held out, quite often, for some reason or another.
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Kajehase
Great Reader

Sweden
2104 Posts

Posted - 24 Jan 2011 :  22:17:47  Show Profile Send Kajehase a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal...(unless you believe Vangerdahast- ha!).


But, but... Vangerdahast is lawful! He wouldn't lie.

There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett
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Azuth
Senior Scribe

USA
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Posted - 25 Jan 2011 :  01:01:34  Show Profile  Visit Azuth's Homepage Send Azuth a Private Message  Reply with Quote

A fair point on Caladnei, but (it would seem to me) that taking the "-hast" suffix at least indicates that the Mage Royal is bound to the same decree as Baerauble was by the elves. I don't have much information on Caladnei that's canon, but outside of assumptions, I do not have much to go on. If memory serves, Caladnei took over for a retiring Vangerdahast. If she weren't following tradition, it seems logical for Vangey to turn her into a toad or something (because he's Vangey, of course).

As for lineage by blood - the extremely-long lives of Baerauble's descendents (Caladnei aside) would indicate more than just elven blood at work. This is the primary reason I'd like to see the Mages Royal with their corresponding Regents. Caladnei seems to have only serves Tanalasta and Azoun V (at most) based on the information I can piecemeal together.

I welcome corrections and additions most eagerly.

Azuth, the First Magister
—Lord of All Spells—


quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal

quote:
Originally posted by Azuth

I've read Cormyr several times. It just seems unclear to me that the entire lineage of the Mages Royal is listed.
It's not listed. But it's suggested (and I'll confirm) that the progression is Baerauble-Amedahast-Thanderhast-Jorunhast-Vangerdahast-Caladnei-Ganrahast. The family tree, however, is a great big mystery.

Speaking of which...

quote:
Also, Caladnei is Vagerdahast's apprentice, but isn't of the blood of Baerauble, so is she just the equivalent of a steward until Ganrahast was capable of assuming the position?
Now, who told you Caladnei wasn't descended from Baerauble? Or that Jorunhast was? Or that any of the stories about all these folk being descended from one great, powerful mage from centuries ago is actually true at all? None of this is stated by any reliable narrator anywhere in Realmslore (unless you believe Vangerdahast- ha!). For all we know, all the Mages Royal were told of some great family destiny, and took on modified names when assuming their mantle as eventual inheritors of the role.

Not that any of that stuff is a suggestion of anything but this: be careful what assumptions you make, when dealing with the Realms. What appears in text is one thing; what does not is held out, quite often, for some reason or another.


Azuth, the First Magister
Lord of All Spells

The greatest expression of creativity is through Art.
Offense can never be given, only taken.
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Zireael
Master of Realmslore

Poland
1190 Posts

Posted - 25 Jan 2011 :  11:29:54  Show Profile  Visit Zireael's Homepage Send Zireael a Private Message  Reply with Quote
About Caladnei - it's stated explicitly in FRCS 3e that she's not a descendant of Baerauble's.

The -hast suffix was about honoring their grand-grand... mother, Alea Dahast. End of story.

SiNafay Vrinn, the daughter of Lloth, from Ched Nasad!

http://zireael07.wordpress.com/
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Wooly Rupert
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Posted - 25 Jan 2011 :  14:46:04  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I've always assumed that all the -hast mages were related, even if only distantly.

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