| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Sylrae |
Posted - 23 Nov 2014 : 07:46:30
What are some of the coolest pieces of fan lore on the Realms that you guys recall up here?
Can you provide a link?
I'm looking for anything that could make my games better. Mini articles would also be appreciated.
Just whatever you've got. |
| 27 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Khondar |
Posted - 10 Dec 2014 : 20:34:25
Sorry - no links for these...but some of my favorites;
Weapons in my Forgotten Realms campaigns by Simon Gibbs (Version 3.0, Jan 7, 2000)
Metals Most Marvelous: Metals of the Forgotten Realms by Simon Gibbs (Edition 3.0, Mar 13, 2000)
Armour of the Forgotten Realms by Simon Gibbs (Version 3.2, Mar 10, 2000)
The Northern Journey Project (especially enjoyed the coinage lore) |
| Alystra Illianniis |
Posted - 09 Dec 2014 : 20:32:55
Some of my favorite bits of lore were the "your favorite PC's/NPC's you've created" thread, which is full of interesting and useful NPC's, the Spell typos thread, which had some fun and interesting effects for errors in "Spellcraft", and the companion thread detailing wizardly "curses" or "diseases" that could cause problems for spellcasters. All of those threads are somewhere here in the general FR discussion section, I believe, and shouldn't be hard to find. I'll try to link to them when I get more time, if possible. |
| Diffan |
Posted - 05 Dec 2014 : 21:00:18
quote:
Originally posted by hashimashadoo
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I've really enjoyed creating NPCs for people so I'd have to say my FR NPC Generator is probably my favorite.
I'm exactly the opposite. I hate designing NPCs. Least favourite part of the job - closely followed by large combats.
I used to like some of the Neverwinter Nights persistent worlds. Dealing with uppity designers who didn't like you arguing with them in *their* world killed it for me though.
See, the thread like mine would really come in handy if you wanted an NPC or enemy for the PCs to face but didn't have the time or inclination to put one together yourself.
I liked delving into the mechanics and guts of the systems. Coming up with weird, fun, interesting, or just common elements and combinations that would either be cool to see or play in the game. I had a decent sized list of characters all done up even before I made the thread so it was pretty much cut 'n' paste for a while. The only real difficulty was creating NPCs and Monsters with extremely high levels and templates in v3.5 because of the numerous amounts of cross-over modifiers. Adding in racial scores, making sure the skill ranks were correct for the level + racial HD + Int. modifier. Making sure the stats change accordingly when magical items are thrown in. It was the minutia of detail that got bothersome.
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| hashimashadoo |
Posted - 05 Dec 2014 : 16:18:30
That's what I meant, yes. Love the fluff, hate the crunch. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 05 Dec 2014 : 13:15:19
I guess it depends on what you are creating an NPC for and what kind of detail you are going into.
Creating the rules/mechanics side i agree with you is tedious and dull (which is why i dont do it).
On the other hand, thinking up of new NPCs or existing NPCS to flesh out an organisation or a piece of history or a regionyou are working on can be quite rewarding, especially if you need to mesh it into existing lore. |
| hashimashadoo |
Posted - 05 Dec 2014 : 11:57:12
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I've really enjoyed creating NPCs for people so I'd have to say my FR NPC Generator is probably my favorite.
I'm exactly the opposite. I hate designing NPCs. Least favourite part of the job - closely followed by large combats.
I used to like some of the Neverwinter Nights persistent worlds. Dealing with uppity designers who didn't like you arguing with them in *their* world killed it for me though. |
| Sylrae |
Posted - 05 Dec 2014 : 08:44:32
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I've really enjoyed creating NPCs for people so I'd have to say my FR NPC Generator is probably my favorite.
Indexed! |
| Diffan |
Posted - 02 Dec 2014 : 19:39:02
I've really enjoyed creating NPCs for people so I'd have to say my FR NPC Generator is probably my favorite. |
| Zireael |
Posted - 30 Nov 2014 : 18:13:59
Wow, I'm glad someone liked the elder drow and the Baldur's Gate writeups. I've actually finished all the companions in Polish, but never got around to translating them. And now I have even less time than I used to, so Alora and whoever was left will probably never show up on Candlekeep forums. |
| Sylrae |
Posted - 27 Nov 2014 : 20:36:27
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
No problems from me.
Okay then. I will compile the things I find in posts as I feel like, but credit the appropriate people and link the appropriate threads; and if someone has a problem with my compilation including their stuff, they can always contact me and we will deal with it appropriately.
So, anyone else have anything to add to the ol' list? |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 27 Nov 2014 : 19:42:52
No problems from me. |
| Sylrae |
Posted - 27 Nov 2014 : 19:05:14
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Ordu's Amazar. It's on p.11 of my thread.
Ooh; I liked that.
Okay. So I've compiled a document with links to the stuff people have shared here. It's been great stuff. I set it up in such a way that anyone can make suggestions, if anyone has more to add there and wants to suggest it directly, or if they have more information for what is already there.
Would people be upset if some of the things I found in various threads, I tossed together in documents and then shared links to the documents? I would reference the original writer anywhere I did that, and if possible, include any links; but I might end up doing some textual editing to fit things into a coherent document. Candlekeep has some excellent stuff hidden within it, but IMO lore is more useful when it's been extracted from the long conversations that threads facilitate.
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| Markustay |
Posted - 27 Nov 2014 : 14:09:44
Yeah! An update with maps!
Maybe even historic ones!
Man, we really need that... someone should get off his... 
Anyhow, not to toot my own horn, but I really love the work Dalor Darden put into the Five Shires/Gulthmere conversion and the map I made to go with it. Sadly, he never had time to put together a netbook for that.
We also worked together on his Ixinos project. The link to that work seems to be broken now, but I am sure you could request that netbook from him.
Other projects I've enjoyed being on were the Elven Netbook (Lord Karsus' Elves of Faerūn) - I had particular fun writing the 'mythical snow elves' piece - and the (sadly) never finished Utter East project (I did complete a map for it, but the lore we all came up with was never written-up... 4e happened). |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 26 Nov 2014 : 23:29:34
Yeah, that history of the North has taken a bit of a battering due to some novels and further work.
It really needs an update ...
-- George Krashos |
| Baltas |
Posted - 26 Nov 2014 : 19:49:10
quote:
Originally posted by SaMoCon
I don't mean to offend with this but... C'mon guys, it's fun to reminisce and all but for the people who have no clue what you're talking about it would be nice to provide a link or enough information to do a viable search on Yagoohoogle to find the source material. That exact request was made by the starter of this thread. quote:
Posted by thread originator Sylrae
What are some of the coolest pieces of fan lore on the Realms that you guys recall up here?
Can you provide a link?..
I'm not singling out
Whoops? I think I can provide some links, to recitify my mistakes:
the deviantart gallery of Lord Karsus, with the excelent Elves of Faerun, although it's also a work of other several people, like Markustay.
Elder drow & Ka'Narlist, and [Baldur's Gate Lorebook] excerpts by Zireael.
Prestige in the Realms Vol I, by Thomas M. Costa and Eric L. Boyd.
History of the North by George Krashos
[EDIT]
And of course, Seethyr's excelent Maztica Alive! |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 26 Nov 2014 : 09:13:57
Well where i got them from i honestly couldnt say anymore. I just download everything and hoard it in my archive.
I think the realms bestiary 1 and 2 come from Eric Boyd's website (a search for his name should bring it up, or look in his sig it will probably be there). The Realms Bestiary are basically 3rd edition writeups of all the old monsters (and some new ones) from 1st and 2nd edition that never got officially converted. As a bonus it includes some lovely lore snippets in there about how to use the monsters, where they are found in the realms, and their origins etc.
The Candlekeep Compendium i'm sure needs no explanation and can be found on this website without much difficulty.
The Snowblood Netbooks detail mostly ancient and long vanished civilisations with a preference for elven civilisations it would seem. They are quite well detailed with just about all canon references to those kingdoms included and then some homebrew work to link the references together into a complete history with some city writeups and other stuff thrown in as well. The maps are particularly nice.
George Krashos and Eric Boyd's work are all in the Chamber of Sages section on the forum, well worth copying it all out to word and including it in any campaign as canon, its that good.
And finally the Alternate Dimensions fan mag is in my sig below. It is a gathering of articles of fan made works about anything realmsian. The articles i write are usually an alternate version of things, they are different from canon, but in a subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) way that does not change the final outcome but merely reinterprets the events in a different light. So for instance i have 3 ancient empires in the Old Empires region (Unther, Mulhorand, and Akanu) with 3 separate pantheons, gradually over time the events in history occur to bring things together into the dead empire and pantheon of Unther and the empire and pantheon of Mulhorand. I even created 2 tiamats that merge into one being (giving an alternate way of cleaning up the Tiamat gaff created by the Bloodstone series). I've also done some work on Damara and Vaasa giving it an alternate history and some extra backstory for Zhengyi. There are articles from other authors in there as well, Ryan Rahuba did a few on his version of lycanthropy as well as a very nice short story, Seethyr and i have been working together on some Maztica stuff, and i have a new NPC writeup by Kenneth Fabacher. Basically if anyone wants to get their work out there for others to read then i hope that they use the Alternate Dimensions fan mag to do it so we all have a common place to air our works. It's available in my sig, on candlekeep, google drive, and enworld so it shouldnt be hard to find.
If anyone wants a copy of anything i have mentioned (or anyone else has mentioned) then just let me know as i will probably have it lying around somewhere. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 26 Nov 2014 : 09:13:50
In terms of what I've done, I think a thought provoking one-off piece of lore that I put in my Chamber of Sages thread was my write up of Ordu's Amazar.
It's on p.11 of my thread.
-- George Krashos |
| SaMoCon |
Posted - 26 Nov 2014 : 08:09:50
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
... Then there are the netbooks written by Snowblood. I would love to pick his brains about where he got the information from.
You mean Aaryvandar, Peramangk, Ilythiir, Arnothoi, Orva, Sarphil, Anauria Asram Hlondath, Uvaeren, Braceldaur of Cormanthor, Ilodhar of Cormanthor, Lisenaar of Cormanthor, Imaskar, Miyeritar, Orishaar & 3 Leaf Realms, Sundered Crown, Keltormir, Eaerlann, Ammarindar, Siluvanede, Sharrven, Illefarn, Ardeep, Myth Ondath, and Evereska? What about the maps like Tintageer, Myth Glaurach, Shantel Othreier, Realms of the Shining South, Lisenaar, and Braceldaur? These links go to pages to download documents of near encyclopaedic knowledge for barely referenced kingdoms of yore and realms of power from rise to heyday to fall. The maps showing now changed terrain features and long vanished cities are incredible resources for any DM planning on running adventures excavating relics of the past. If you want to know about the societies, cultures, and political powers of these historical kingdoms I know of no better resource. I only knew where to go for those because I stumbled across them just this past winter.
I don't mean to offend with this but... C'mon guys, it's fun to reminisce and all but for the people who have no clue what you're talking about it would be nice to provide a link or enough information to do a viable search on Yagoohoogle to find the source material. That exact request was made by the starter of this thread. quote:
Posted by thread originator Sylrae
What are some of the coolest pieces of fan lore on the Realms that you guys recall up here?
Can you provide a link?..
I'm not singling out Dazzlerdal for abuse. That honored sage just happened to mention something that I knew where to find. Everything else everyone has mentioned... I have no idea to what you are referring by mentioning names and saying "yeah, his stuff is cool." Checking the Sage's Corner allows for some name matching but there are thousands of posts for each one of them. How do you know which one's are relevant from the ones that just meander into esoterica or talk about areas not congruent with your interests?
So much lore is out there and there are so many good things as to be overwhelming. Just find one thing that caused you to change your game or start a brand new one because you wanted to run/play that. Summarize what it was, describe what you did to incorporate it, and provide a link. It doesn't have to be everything at once. |
| Baltas |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 22:06:40
Well, as said by Wooly and dazzlerdal, I would vote for George, Eric, Ed, but also Thomas M. Costa and Brian R. James, who's work is also is on the canon and fan lore border. The Candlekeek Compendium has many wonderfull articles. I also love the posts, and work of dazzlerdal, Markustay, Snowblood, Seethyr, Zirael and Lord Karsus. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 11:24:20
I agree with Dazzler on this but I would add Jeff Grubb to the list. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 10:44:31
Undoubtedly the word of George, Eric, Ed, and Steven should be taken as canon, even overiding newer released "lore", at least thats how i treat it (mostly because the new official stuff is poorly thought out and rarely researched well).
George is the master of all things Impiltur. Eric practically created the North (with a bit of help from George and others), Ed's musings are just awesome no matter where they are, and i really want to steal Steven's brain so i can find out more about Khelben and Laeral.
There are also some fan made works in my sig in the Alternate Dimensions fan mag, and dont forget Seethyr's excellent work on Maztica. Then there are the hundreds of articles in the Travellers Notebooks and other sections on Candlekeep.
Of course most people tend to prefer their own pieces (its a labour of love after all) so why not try your hand at making your own and then that can be your best fan lore, then send it to me and i can put it in the Alternate Dimensions fan mag. |
| Cyril Lokner |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 02:55:20
I'm going to put in another vote for Snowblood. Outside of the canon lore, his work has made its way into the work I've done on Daggerdale more often than any other fan lore author. It helps that his work overlaps much of what I've worked on. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 00:54:23
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
The Realms Bestiary I and II are awesome for 3rd edition, got some good realmslore hidden in there (elder ogres).
Those are awesome, but like the lore of Ed, Krash, or Eric L Boyd, I consider those canon and not fanlore. I'll acknowledge that they are not actually canon, but in my mind, they should be. |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 24 Nov 2014 : 00:48:32
In addition to everything already mentioned I would add Cyril Lokner's most excellent work on the Cougarim, Tachepp, White Chalk Hollow and the Aer Ascaltia. And of course, George Krashos' and Eric Boyd's(particularly his work, Prestige in the Realms) scrolls are packed with greatness.There was talk of organizing them into an index, but it hasn't yet seen the light of day. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 23 Nov 2014 : 19:36:35
Candlekeep Compendium does it for me every time.
The Realms Bestiary I and II are awesome for 3rd edition, got some good realmslore hidden in there (elder ogres).
Elves of Faerun was a great fan made net book.
Then there are the netbooks written by Snowblood. I would love to pick his brains about where he got the information from. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 23 Nov 2014 : 14:46:28
Well, for obvious reasons, I'm quite fond of my own stuff -- the Hooks I wrote for the Compendium, my Lords of Waterdeep, and the Realmsified warforged that I created.
There was another thing in the Compendium that I thought was just awesome -- Deep Gnolls. I don't recall the author, off the top of my head, but I thought it was a very well thought out and imaginative piece.
Of course, the best fan lore would be Brian R James compiling his Grand History -- it became a WotC product and got him some jobs from them. Hard to top that! |
| SaMoCon |
Posted - 23 Nov 2014 : 11:24:46
The post of Dazzlerdal about Hlundadim. It was that posting that made me think of a (in my mind) cool realm of power extending from the land that would become Netheril to the Giants Run Mountains which held six mighty hobgoblin nations. That backstory was easily lost in the FR history because the elven nations broke the nascent hobgoblin powers in less than five years and was hardly worth mentioning compared to the more recent crown wars. These past events are only noteworthy for appearance of something that caused the elven kingdoms to completely eradicate any vestige of the six goblinoid nations - elfslayer weapons of fairy glass called "Dou Joks." Hob tribes and some major or venerable goblin tribes still have at least one of these ancient weapons in their regalia, often wielded by a chief or champion. So not canon but my players are eating it up. |
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