| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| questing gm |
Posted - 05 Nov 2023 : 14:05:37
Since starting up his own Discord server (https://discord.onl/greenwoods-grotto/), Ed Greenwood has been answering Realms-related questions in the #q4ed channel. Although it's free to join the Discord and view his answers, but I believe it requires a subscription to Ed's Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/EdGreenwood) to be given access to ask him questions there.
So since his answers are free to view by anyone on his Discord and for the benefit of those who are not on Discord, I'm starting and updating my compilation of his answers in this scroll. I'll leave it to the wisdom of moderating scribes if anything should be changed or removed.
I won't be able to put down everything (I already have 300+ answered questions to put down), so consider updates here will be intermittent, and will take a while before it catches up to the latest questions answered. (Or just join the Discord if you want the latest  )
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2026 : 13:20:21
On adoption of Dale Reckoning in Icewind Dale
The Book RodentRole icon, Patron of The Realms — 9/5/2026 11:01 PM
Howdy @Ed Greenwood, just a small realms history question, when did Icewind Dale adopt the Dale Reckoning (if all the towns have even done so)? I'm aware the Realms have several other calendars, for example I know North Reckoning started in Waterdeep which would be a lot closer than The Dales, but I also know that the first town in Icewind Dale was founded by Cormyrian nobles and Cormyr has its own reckoning? Has the title of most popular calendars shifted much in that part of the world?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 10/5/2026 6:47 AM
The marking of time within Icewind Dale is far more concerned with ice breakup, seasonal warmings, and such than any formal calendar. The folks who are concerned with formal calendars are outlander merchants coming into Icewind Dale temporarily on trading trips, or meeting folk of the Dale outside the dale to supply them, and they DO depend on Dalereckoning; they're the very people (or sort of people: caravan merchants and peddlers) who spread Dalereckoning across Faerûn in the first place. So Dalereckoning has come to Icewind Dale, and did so quite a while ago now, so it’s the established local standard, when formal dating is used by locals. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2026 : 12:42:38
On a doppleganger seeing through the disguised form of a malaugrym
Joe ~ChangRole icon, Legend of the Realms — 25/7/2025 10:08 AM
Hi @Ed Greenwood hope you had a great GenCon 2025. Could an average doppleganger see through the disguised form of a malaugrym? And vice versa? How do the malaugrym feel about dopplegangers?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 6/5/2026 8:01 AM
An average doppelganger might, upon close contact for more than a passing moment or two, sense there was something “off” or unusual about the Malaugrym, but they wouldn’t be able to see the Malaugrym’s true form or even identify what was wrong about the creature they were observing; this is more like a “veteran doppelganger has a Spidey Sense tingling, ‘green’ doppelganger likely doesn’t.”
Moreover, arcane magic users and others using magic or enchanted items to alter their appearances are things an urban-dwelling doppelganger might often see, so they might not necessarily be alarmed or taken aback or even all that interested—other than knowing enough to be wary, that what they’re seeing isn’t the true entity, so they should keep an eye out for a sudden attack or action.
Long-lived and far-traveled Malaugrym develop a similar sense for when a creature nearby, that they get a good look at, is shapeshifted in some way, or using magic to conceal its true appearance. They’d likely not know its true nature, except by guessing, using foreknowledge (already knowing doppelgangers live in this building, for example).
Most doppelgangers think of Malaugrym as dangerous, magically-powerful insane humans who lust after power, and who are best avoided.
Most Malaugrym think of doppelgangers as creatures incapable of being really good impostors through innate laziness. This is more indicative of the arrogant “we’re superior” world-view of Malaugrym than it is truth. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 May 2026 : 07:35:56
On the soul of a god in the City of Judgment
Juniper Churlgo [WOOD], Role icon, Scribe of the Realms — 24/7/2025 1:27 AM
Hey Ed, a question on souls in the realms. On Candlkeep you said a soul is created when mommy and daddy love eachother very much. But what about births that are not biological, like magical creations? divine creations? Do they get a soul during creation spontaneously? How does that work?
Bladesinger Lily [Elf], — 24/7/2025 5:55 AM
Hey @Ed Greenwood, I’d like this question answered, too. We were specifically talking about a creature that is essentially reanimated goo of a god. (Sorry..,trying not to spoil plots points)
If God A walked the material plane and was killed, but their “essence” was saved and animated by said God, would they have a soul that another god could redeem in the City of Judgement?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 6/5/2026 7:48 AM
When divinity is attained, a mortal soul is changed. No other god could redeem it, and most deities would have great difficulty even caging or controlling it. The old Faerûnian saying “destruction is easy, it’s everything else that’s hard” applies here.
God’s bodies are a different matter; they can be reanimated, transformed, and so on—though Ao frowns on deceptions using such means, and if the “dead” god is still around, they will be furious and will act accordingly.
Divine “essence” is the divine power of a god, and can be acquired by others, lost forever, or even stolen, but the sentience of the deity, in its altered soul, survives. It may drift powerless for aeons, but more often a deity has prepared for its possible demise, and has fallbacks (just as many liches do, or mortal wizards who cast contingency spells). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 08:42:26
On the Kurit dialect differ from other Dwarvish dialects
Mind Flayer #1 Fan [LADS], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 1/5/2026 7:41 PM
Hey @Ed Greenwood, I've been contemplating arctic dwarves lately and wonder: How does the Kurit dialect differ from other Dwarvish dialects like Riftspeak or Duergan?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 5/5/2026 10:36 PM
Compared to other dwarves, arctic dwarves use a much smaller vocabulary, and the words used sound as different from other words as possible, to avoid misunderstood messages when shouting into a blizzard or among echoing ice passages. The sounds “ark” and “hullaww” and “vroor” appear in many words, with different prefixes and suffixes so words won’t be mixed up with each other. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 08:10:06
On daily life of Sshamath and Menzoberranzan
Eilistraee's WarriorRole icon, Patron of The Realms — 1/5/2026 8:00 AM
What would surprise a visitor most about daily life in Sshamath compared to Menzoberranzan?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 5/5/2026 10:30 PM
That depends on who the visitor is.
To a Lolth-worshipping drow, the rule of wizards and utter absence of Lolth-priestess matrons would be the big difference, and not ever taking arcane spellcasters as slaves would be another.
Z’orr’bauth, the great central pillar, is a big visual difference, and reminds many visitors of the great tree-homes of surface elven forest cities.
And the “open” nature of trade all across the city, from the Dark Weavings Bazaar to the Quillspires to back-alley shops, would surprise someone used to drow matriarchal overview and surveillance as found in Menzoberranzan. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 05:36:23
On Cormyrean nobility's view on acts of infidelity
kageura necromancer wizard [D&D], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 1/5/2026 10:19 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood, I hope you’re well.
Among Cormyrean nobility, how are mistresses and acts of infidelity (concubine festhalls(brothels) multiple wives and such) generally viewed and treated both socially and legally?
And how are illegitimate children viewed and treated among nobles?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 5/5/2026 10:21 PM
This has been covered many times before. Most nobles don’t give a fig about mistresses and acts of infidelity, so long as such behaviour isn’t flaunted as public disrespect (e.g. a husband belittling a wife). Illegitimate offspring are unable to inherit or bear family titles (unless they become “the last of the blood standing”), and are embraced, tolerated, or shunned largely on the basis of their personal behaviour and character. A lot of nobles adopt “shocked and appalled” stances about “immoral” conduct, but such reactions are almost always social posturing to gain status and disparage others, not what they genuinely care about. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 05:25:05
On other edible mosses and lichens might be gathered or used in the Dalelands
Zonesylvania [WOOD], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 18/6/2025 11:18 AM
Dear Saer @Ed Greenwood , having recently flipped through (again) Volo's guide to Cormyr, and reading the part about shield moss, out of curiosity I was wondering what other edible mosses and lichens might be gathered or used in the Dalelands or anywhere else for that matter by locals, rangers or druids. Thankee!
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 5/5/2026 10:12 PM
There are many edible mosses and lichens in the Dales and across Faerûn (except for arid and semi-arid terrain), but many are unpleasant eating; they’ll sustain you but no one is going to choose them as culinary delights. I described some in the Amarune’s Almanacs series )from Vorpal Dice Press, available at the DM’s Guild), but others specific to the Dales include bruith, ithchalass, and maharok. They all turn brown and then head for gray when dead and becoming desiccated.
Bruith: A brownish-green, irregular carpet of low-in-height, entwined fronds (looks very like low-pile modern carpet) that sprouts tiny purple flowers in spring and summer. Grows in dappled sunlight or part-of-a-day sunshine, not in deep shade or underground. Tastes like roasted almonds when raw, apt to be gritty (due to trapped dirt and fine rock grit), Best when washed and served sprinkled with lemon-water.
Ithchalass: this blue-green, lush moss grows in oval patches (colonies) on exposed bark, roots, and deadfall wood. It has a strong, unique salt-sweet taste that makes it a favourite snack of many. Eating a palm-full or more turns urine a startling deep blue for a time; some have used such pee as ink to write or draw with.
Maharok: a pepper-and-lime-tasting purplish tall-frond lichen that grows on rocks and mineral-rich ground, in shade only. Apt to irritate digestion if too much is eaten in too short a time. Can be harvested, dried, and pulverised into a “lemon pepper” spice (when cooked, including as an additive to soups and broths, it loses its bowel-irritant property). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 04:19:45
On snowing in Neverwinter
CupcakeTrapRole icon, Patron of The Realms — 27/4/2026 11:50 PM
@Ed Greenwood Does it snow in Neverwinter? Or in Neverwinter Wood? ("Is it ever winter in Neverwinter?")
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 28/4/2026 6:35 AM
Oh, yes. In winter months, it snows quite often. What it doesn't do is freeze hard, nor does the snow accumulate; it melts when it touches ground. The magic that made Neverwinter "never winter" lost much of its potency when the Spellplague hit; these days, it's feebler. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 04:15:37
On Flamsterd of the Isles in the 1400s
damianbreen — 29/5/2025 10:00 PM
@Ed Greenwood well met all. It's been awhile since I asked about my Favourite Wizard, Flamsterd of the Isles. The last time we spoke it was c.1390, Flamsterd was gently guiding the rulers of the Moonshaes, had an eye on a young sorceress and stabilising the islands after the Moonwell incidents. Just wondering what the 1400's had in store for him. All the best Damian
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 3:43 AM
Flamsterd spent much of the early 1400s DR restoring damage to the Moonshaes and the northern Sword Coast wrought by the Spellplague. He’s thought to have quietly foiled some of the covert political alliances made by Dagult Neverember as Lord of Neverwinter and Open Lord of Waterdeep, and to make the portals to the Shadowfell in the Dread Spire (of the Dread Ring in Neverwinter Wood) often go awry, taking users to unforeseen, unknown destinations. Flamsterd is responsible for many of the setbacks and disasters that prevented the Cult of the Dragon from either creating dracoliches, or maintaining control over existing dracoliches. Flamsterd is increasingly interested in the affairs, lives, and stewardship over their demesnes of good or lawful dragons, via his friendships and working partnerships with both weredragons and song dragons. (He still works with, and trusts, the weredragon Shaleen.)
Flamsterd remains a friend of the Harpers, and often renders them aid. In the 1470s DR, he had to rescue one of his daughters, but details of what he did, where, and why remain mysterious. Flamsterd is utterly uninterested in fame, notoriety, or even being recognized if he can get away with it. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 04:06:04
On places in the Realms where the Gift is persecuted and/or discriminated against
valethehowl — 15/5/2025 6:30 AM
Good day saer @Ed Greenwood , today I have a rather peculiar question for you: are there places in the Realms where the Gift is considered a curse rather than a blessing, and the Gifted are persecuted and/or discriminated against? I know that there are a few places that are against arcane magic, but I'd like to know specifically about hate against the Gifted in general, even those that might decide to practice Divine Magic or even just use attunement items.
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 3:25 AM
I don’t know of any places in the Realms with a widespread or societal hatred or fear of being Gifted. USE of the Art (arcane magic), yes, but merely having the aptitude for it, no. It’s like being left-handed, or having a trait of blinking a lot; it’s just a personal characteristic. Unless you use magic, others may not even know if you’re Gifted, or not. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 03:59:56
On real name of Lichdrow Dyrr
abra [WOOD], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 17/4/2026 11:15 PM
@Ed Greenwood Obviously, Lichdrow Dyrr once had a given name. Did you happen to write it down anywhere or have thoughts? (or might be able to ask Salvatore, if he's the one with that info...)
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 3:16 AM
Lord Dyrr was born Vaerloth Orothul Dyrr. “Vaerloth” from a prominent adventuring-mage male grandfather, and “Orothul” for a fat, brooding back-chambers longtime-dominant Dyrr house uncle, a schemer who gave orders and manipulated local politics to give House Dyrr a quiet importance far greater than its size, martial prowess, and local public profile would have won it. Both of these individuals are now long dead—or presumed so. Orothul was butchered (literally dismembered) by rival drow of the city while the Lichdrow Dyrr was still a young sorcerer mastering the Art; Vaerloth had disappeared while adventuring in the World Above (the surface Realms) before the Lichdrow Dyrr was born. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 03:45:41
On mysterious Selunite temple in Suzail
Sundered_AntRole icon, Scribe of the Realms — 19/4/2026 9:57 PM
Dear @Ed Greenwood, in one of my personal favorite works from the late Jennell Jaquays, The Shattered Statue (1988), events kick off when the wizard Amelior Amanitas steals the eponymous statue’s misplaced foot from a Temple of Selúne in the city of Suzail (locals had mistakenly believed it to be a physical remnant of an avatar of Grumbar). I’ve since tried to find out more about this location, only to not find anything about a Selúnite temple in Cormyr's capital. By any chance could you shine some light on this mysterious location?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 3:09 AM
Many temples in Suzail have long histories of being “upstairs rooms” above businesses or in the heart of upscale mansions all over the city (NOT cellars, thanks to the high water table and proximity to the sea). The Suzailan temple of Selúne is one of these. (The definition of “temple” as opposed to “shrine” centers on its importance within the church of the deity across Toril, and its staffing, more than to architecture—though large grounds and soaring buildings do mean “temple” if they’re in general use, as opposed to abandoned to all but hermits or wandering clergy.)
The particular incarnation of the temple that lost much of a statue of Our Lady of Silver was the Moonmaiden House, and it was located in the heart of The House of Horns (one of the Suzailan mansions of the Rallyhorn noble family; for a time the Blacksilver nobles rented some rooms therein), which on the Blando map of Suzail is the prow-shaped building that forms the western end of the city block immediately south of Mantlargard (the mansion of House Mantlepard) and High Oronel (the mansion of House Haldoneir, formerly Stormserpent Towers). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 May 2026 : 03:41:19
On putting the Rakeclaw/Farjarnar on a map of the Realms
Stu Toril Odyssey ProjectRole icon, Legend of the Realms — 26/4/2026 2:35 AM
@Ed Greenwood thanks for the Jarnsaxa lore drop. In the Lost Lore of the Realms
If you were to put the Rakeclaw/Farjarnar on a map of the realms. Where would you put it? I am laying out Yal Tengri right now and wanted to include it.
If it's not any of the ones I have labeled any advice would be welcome and appreciated!
<https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1072136642162343986/1497667425510883509/image.png?ex=6a0178bb&is=6a00273b&hm=c3690d5b732f91fdd5762d42c4fe5a4953935dfae87fc873608b03c56f523f80&>
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 2:38 AM
Happy to help. On the map you've provided, go to "2" and proceed to the right, along the horizontal line, until you're right under "3." Then move JUST a little farther right, until you're out from directly under "3," and stop. You're in the Rakeclaw, which are three parallel long narrow valleys running southwest-northeast, starting where you are on the map and extending diagonally up and to the right. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 11 May 2026 : 16:25:05
On particular birthday or name day traditions in Neverwinter
Craig (MAL & TIG) [D&D], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 26/4/2026 10:46 PM
@Ed Greenwood my children reminded me that today is my birthday (whoopee, I guess). Are there any particular birthday or name day traditions in neverwinter?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 2:30 AM
Yes. In 1501 DR, there are two “name day” customs: friends and family members verbally impart a secret or other information they deem of value or interest to the person who’s now a year older, and friends, lovers, or family members who are close to that person may gather with that person at some time of the day or night (up until the following dawn) for a quiet drink and chat. The drink may be water or tea, it need not be alcohol. Most folk of Neverwinter try to make it whatever they know to be the name-day-persons’ favorite, or something new or exotic and hard to get—such as, for a shopkeeper or laborer, a quaff of elverquisst. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 11 May 2026 : 16:08:29
On the Bricksmen's Catalogue
Sundered_AntRole icon, Scribe of the Realms — 27/4/2026 2:14 AM
Dear @Ed Greenwood, I was looking back through one of my favorite sourcebooks, Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue, and there was one item in the catalogue that gave me pause. Due in part to it not even really being something available for purchase - the Bricksmen's Catalogue. It seems to be proprietary to Aurora's Emporium, has around fifteen armed guards (bricklayers) at any given outlet that has a copy, and requires permission to for bricklayers peruse. Not actually sure if it's a trades book or a product catalogue. What I'm wondering, is what could of such importance to this profession that Aurora's Emporium would be so deadly serious about keeping it proprietary?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 2:23 AM
Heh. You have stumbled upon one of the little “right out there in the open” secrets of the Realms.
This catalogue is so closely guarded because perusal of it will reveal to even a casual reader that bricklayers can readily provide hollow bricks for hidden valuables storage, hollow bricks with their interior cavities already filled with dry-powder-mixture explosives, bricks made with mixes that can be reduced to slumping grit (so, causing doorways to open or even entire buildings to collapse) if sprayed or drenched in particular proprietary-secret-formulae liquid substances, and so on. In short, trade secrets whose widespread public knowledge might bring disrepute upon the profession—but secrets that in the right hands can enrich a bricklayer engaged in a particular building process. Certain builders have been known to take fees from a client for building, and at the same time secret payments from that client’s foes or rivals, to “build in” a weak spot for an entrance to be covertly created by splashing the right particular bricks with the right liquid mix. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 11 May 2026 : 16:05:54
On the Road Wardens guarding Skull Crag
Juniper Churlgo [WOOD], Role icon, Scribe of the Realms — 26/4/2026 12:38 AM
Hey Ed, are Road Wardens still guarding Skull Crag and the roads on that side of the mountains in the current timeline?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 2:11 AM
Yes. And their teenaged children are regularly roaming (exploring on their own, but they are trained to notice small changes and new additionsm and report back—and they diligently do) the local hill and mountain slopes. The patrol range along the road isn’t now much more than the Old Axe southwards, and the little knoll hight “Arhawk’s Halt” (halfway to Eagle Peak) northwards, though. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 11 May 2026 : 12:24:04
On the Alliance in Evereska
geeky_kappa [CLRM], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 26/4/2026 7:37 PM
I am translating the gazetteer of 4e FRCG to Chinese, but failed to find any description of The Alliance in Evereska. What is this? Is it a building, a statue or a monument?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 27/4/2026 2:01 AM
The Alliance in Evereska (which stands due north of Goldmorn Knoll) is a spire-topped building where representatives of the Lords’ Alliance meet (rarely); the rest of the time, it is used for other “neutral ground” or more mundane (merchant negotiations, hobbyists’ clubs) moots. It consists of a large, domed-ceilinged (with skjylights) meeting hall, reached by a series of “receiving” chambers or entry lobbies from a grand north-wall entry double doors, with kitchens and pantries and prep rooms flanking these lobbies to the east, and smaller meeting rooms flanking them to the west. South of the central meeting hall are two “ready rooms” where food, drink, furniture, and staged items (such as cargo samples and evidence exhibits) can be laid out ready for use in the hall, and south of them are more small meeting rooms, then south of that “robing rooms” (dressing rooms and wardrobe and luggage storage) and south of that, with access to small side-door exterior entrances, are guest suites for the use of envoys from afar who have traveled to moots, or stewards who stay in The Alliance to guard or tend to exhibits brought there.
So The Alliance serves as a sort of upscale community center. It is maintained and staffed by local (elven) clergy of Labelas Enoreth. From the outside, it looks like a ship-shaped stone building with living ribs (curving outside hull-staves) formed by trees that buttress the walls, with a roof dome and a low spire (tower of apartments above the main suites) behind the spire. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 11 May 2026 : 09:56:40
On how rhul is sourced/manufactured
Spellslamzer [WOOD], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 11/4/2026 5:41 AM
Good day, @Ed Greenwood. Would you be able to provide me with some lore on how rhul is sourced/manufactured? Also, is it widely used at all in the current day Realms?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 24/4/2026 8:36 AM
Rhul (“battlewine”) is not at all widely used in the Realms circa 1500 DR, because of its fatigue-causing drawback, and because too many folk learned that it heighted smell, and used disgusting scents as weapons (to cause debilitating nausea in rhul-users).
Rhul is a very old concoction that came from Semphar or Murghôm (or farther east, and was carried and traded west by caravan merchants based in both of these realms). Its inventor is now forgotten with passing time.
It is not actually wine, or alcoholic, but tastes like many “heavy” spiced (mulled) wines, because it uses some of the same spices in the various recipes for rhul (that really work; there are some recipes that don’t, and at least two that produce efficacious rhul that soon ages out of effectiveness, so must be used within a month or so of making).
Rhul’s key ingredients include cranial fluid from oxen or rothé, snake blood, and four particular wild herbs, one of them a common broadleaf ground cover named “duszkark” that’s very common in Semphar, Murghôm, and Khazari, and less common in many surrounding areas that aren’t too arid. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 11 May 2026 : 08:11:04
On why does Leira hate Szass Tam
Kokopelli [WOOD], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 18/4/2026 4:39 AM
Friend @Ed Greenwood, I return with an obvious question: Why does Leira hate Szass Tam?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 24/4/2026 8:13 AM
Many reasons, but one of them is that Thay was formerly a hotbed of scheming zulkirs and zulkirates and noble families, all working their own intrigues, schemes, and deceptions (Leira LOVED this). Szass Tam killed off zulkirs and replaced them with “yes-men” liches beholden to him, assassinated “troublesome” nobles, and centralized power in an autocratic tyranny that cowed everyone into obedience if they wanted to stay alive, or made them undead slaves. A LOT less deception. So Thay turned from a paradise of power and worship for Leira into a barren region where no one dared worship her or work hard on the deceptions she loves. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 11 May 2026 : 07:53:48
On alcohol the most like Tequila in the Realms
Heydan Seegil, the Drug Lord [WOOD], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 23/4/2026 1:16 PM
@Ed Greenwood What alcohol is the most like Tequila in the Realms?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 23/4/2026 3:22 PM
Qualythykh ("kwal-ith-ICK") is the closest thing to tequila. Because the real-world blue agave plant is unknown in the Realms, the closest the Realms comes to tequila is what in our real world is called "mezcal," distilled alcohol made from other sorts of agave...plants known in the Realms as tarrlaqs or "desert roses" and found where grasslands like the Shaar give way to more arid terrain. And like real-world mezcal, the clear, colourless qualythykh has a smoky flavour. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 15:07:32
On ways to deactivate a devil's pact for a time
mAc ChaosRole icon, Patron of The Realms — 13/4/2026 2:40 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood ! A question about devil pacts. Is there some way for a church or other method (magic item, spell, ritual) to "mute" an infernal pact so that it can't be accessed? Not break the pact, or end it, but simply deactivate it for a time.
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 14/4/2026 12:00 AM
The short answer is YES, though it's not safe nor easy and only a few senior clergy of some churches know how. The longer answer: that very thing is something I've had to explore in detail at the gaming table recently, so there's an upcoming (not soon; I'm about a dozen articles "ahead" right now) Lost Lore of the Realms that describes this in some detail. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 14:57:01
On using other languages to cast spells
VelaRole icon, Artisan of the Realms — 13/4/2026 4:08 AM
@Ed Greenwood In your video showcasing some combat spells (Magic Missile, Fireball and Lightning Bolt more specifically), you say spellcasters usually incant in common after saying the draconic "Oloarcan" or "Varthae", while you mentioned Thorass and Loross on Patreon for different spells.
Are some languages favored for some spells while others are used as the verbal component of different ones, or could someone substitute them for a language with which they're more familiar without reducing the spell's efficiency ? Thank you for replying to our questions !
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 13/4/2026 11:49 PM
The incantation in a casting serves to concentrate the caster's mind on a particular effect with precise timing and location. Any language can be substituted by a caster who experiments and practices doing so; attempts to do it "on the fly" in real battle conditions are apt to be disastrous for anyone but a veteran archmage (and higher). Particular languages are favored out of custom (i.e. in the real world, we adopted a method of classifying life scientifically that uses Latin) and in the case of arcane spellcasters, to make what they do seem more difficult (literally, hard to pronounce) and mysterious (the same reason real-world professions adopt jargon and then repeatedly change it). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 14:39:56
On Elminster's favorite spell and his name
BrunoRush [WOOD], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 12/4/2026 4:52 AM
Good afternoon, @Ed Greenwood . Questions from my ten-year-old son Alex, a big fan:
“What is Elminster’s favorite spell, and where did he get his name?”
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 12/4/2026 5:52 AM
Although there are those who will say Disintegrate or Meteor Swarm are Elminster’s favorite spell (based on the glee and frequency with which he seems to hurl them), the Old Mage’s own preference is for The Simbul's Synostodweomer, a transmutation spell that converts other spells into healing magic, because he’s used it to save folks dear to him on several occasions. The spell Turtle Soup is his second most favorite.
Elminster got his name from his parents, who named him in long-ago Athalantar (El was a son of its Aumar ruling family). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 14:29:55
On Scornubel in 1501 DR
Eilistraee's WarriorRole icon, Patron of The Realms — 11/4/2026 1:21 PM
@Ed Greenwood I'm starting an adventure in Scornubel 1501 DR. What can you tell me about the settlement currently. Is it relatively more tolerant of outsiders, outlaws, and "undesirables"? I was getting a little bit of a wild west vibes from what I've read about it. Would it be crazy if I had a few drow outcasts living/working there? Please correct me if I got anything wrong. Thank you for your attention.
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 12/4/2026 5:46 AM
Have you read its lore coverage in SOULS FOR THE TAKING? |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 12:44:52
On elf activity in the Border Kingdoms
MorwelRole icon, Patron of The Realms — 12/9/2025 1:03 PM
Hey @Ed Greenwood !
I am researching various areas of the realms for campaign ideas, and regions I tend to love locations such as Tethyr and the Border Kingdoms since having local lords / small regions for PCs to be influential or even rule is of interest to me for PCs as they reach higher levels and can expand their power beyond just personal heroics, but as leaders.
However, for the Border Kingdoms, I am having a hard time finding plot hooks or interest within it for non-human races such as elves. I have seen the video on eilistraeens in the western portion of the region, but for forests like Duskwood or others as well, is there any elven activity of note within the region or even small tribes trying to survive or have minor influence or politics with the various kingdoms around? If able to expand further, also knowing more of other races influence, settlements and more for players to hook them into why their kin would have personal investment to the region would be wonderful.
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 11/4/2026 10:27 AM
Elves have usually chosen to keep low profiles in the Border Kingdoms, and so have been somewhat neglected in published Realmslore.
However, elves (notably of the Maruthqel moon elf and Aravvan wood elf families; moon elves and wood/copper elves dwell together in tree-homes in this area) living in the northernmost fringes of the Qurth Forest west of the port of Derlusk have made common cause with halflings and certain human and half-elven mages of that city to sell large quantities of spell inks and forest-plant-based paper they make via shopkeepers in Derlusk.
The moon elves of easternmost Duskwood have long made and sold arrows in bulk to caravans traversing the Golden Road (doing so to ensure the arrows are transported and sold elsewhere, not falling into the hands of Borderers who might well go elf-hunting locally with them). Halflings, gnomes, and dwarves flourish in most of the Border Kingdoms cities, but avoid trying to rule or otherwise holding high political profiles. Rather, they make good livings as crafters and menders for their fellow citizens.
Dwarves tend to be watched warily in Innarlith due to old (and utterly unfounded) fears that the gold dwarves of the Great Rift might try to conquer it as a first step towards a surface empire, and as a result, they have made common cause with gnomes and halflings of Alamontyr in the Border Kingdoms to smuggle goods into and out of Innarlith.
The exception to this widespread aversion to making bids for leadership in the Border Kingdoms is all along its southern edge, where “maverick” adventurers of all races from thri-keen and loxo to, yes, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings have often conquered this or that village or thorp and set themselves up as barons or “grand dukes” or “high scepters” to rule—but they rarely hold on to their thrones (or their lives) for long, as the next ambitious would-be ruler rides into town with a stronger military force and sets about slaughtering to win their own short-lived rule.
In this lore reply, I am assuming you are familiar with the contents of the official canon book THE BORDER KINGDOMS that Alex Kammer and I published on the DM's Guild. There's plenty of "who's up to what in the Borders" lore therein. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 12:20:05
On the game spellcircles
Moon On The Horizon Etherdell [D&D], Role icon, Scribe of the Realms — 3/9/2025 3:43 PM
Hail and well met once more, Saer @Ed Greenwood.
Listening to the audiobook of Elminster in Myth Drannor for the first time just now, I came across the game spellcircles being played by Riluaneth. Intrigued, I tried to find it in the wiki, but was disappointed to find no more information. Would you be willing to please share some more information on such a game?
Also, I have no idea how I hadn't heard of the Magefairs until a few days ago. As someone who almost exclusively plays wizards I would love to have more information about this event (I have to wait 15 days for my next Audible audiobook, sadly, and so cannot listen or read the story I know you wrote until then).
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 11/4/2026 2:56 AM
Spellcircles is a board game (in Elminster In Myth Drannor, we see it being played on a gleaming-polished black marble tiled floor, inset with white tiles to outline the “play array”).
Picture two overlapping chevrons, one pointing “up” (towards your opponent) and one pointing “down” (towards you). Each chevron has a point, and then five “squares” running away in a diagonal from each side of the point. The third square of each chevron “leg” is shared with the leg of the other chevron. On each “square” is a circle divided into three arcs. The game is played by winning spell-battles by cantrips cast by the two players magically “wrestling” each other to affect these arcs, which are (randomly) enspelled by a neutral third party before play begins, so the two players don’t know the enchantments on each arc (which can more easily be affected by particular cantrips; the contesting players are “casting blind” against each other to win a specific arc, in a battle that typically expends at least three cantrips per side.
A player who “wins” all three arcs of a circle “wins” that square. The object of the game is to win the point of the opposing player’s chevron (the point facing away from that opposing player).
Play begins with a coin toss (or agreement between players) to determine where the starting battle will take place. It must be one of the arcs of the endmost/outermost right-hand (of one or the other player) square of a chevron leg.
After that battle is resolved, the second battle must take place in one of the arcs of the endmost right-hand (of the other player) chevron leg square.
The winner of that second battle chooses the next arc, anywhere on the board EXCEPT either of the chevron points, to be contested. The winner of the third battle chooses the next arc battlefield, and this rule continues: the winner of a battle picks the next arc to be fought over.
No chevron-point arc can be selected until all of the other squares of a chevron have been won by a player who can trace an unbroken path of wholly-won (all three arcs in a square) squares from the end of one chevron leg to that point, either along their own chevron’s leg or “switching chevrons” at one of the shared squares.
If (and only if) both players agree to continue to a “clean sweep,” or in the event of neither player being able to trace an unbroken line to reach a chevron point, arcs within a square can be “refought.” However, if this is done, ALL THREE arcs must be contested again, not just the “odd arc out.” So if Player A has won two arcs but lost the third to Player B, not just the third arc will be re-fought; all of the arcs in that square must be fought anew, and this will continue in a series of battles until all three arcs are in the hands of one player.
And that’s the game of spellcircles. It can be varied by restricting the cantrips used to specific ones, or replacing them with specific spells, or even by the players finger-touching or embracing while standing on a specific arc (if, of course, the board is big enough) and casting pain-inducing or mind-influencing or shapeshifting cantrips on each other to fight the battle for that arc.
Brian CortijoRole icon, Icon of the Realms — 13/4/2026 4:39 AM
So... which one of these is the correct approximation of the tile array at the outset of a match (no arcs claimed)?
<https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1072136642162343986/1492987625680928950/image.png?ex=69e9dad4&is=69e88954&hm=0d6cbe3cda65ff332c9c6a2c0fb273ddb5b42c66b777d3585ac4bc90880c9bb5&>
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 13/4/2026 11:53 PM
Sorry, none of them. If you're on a Windows computer, down on the menu bar is a simple carat or arrow symbol (when you hovee over it, it says "Show hidden icons." Take two of those symbols. Put one of them in front of you, just as it looks on the computer screen, and take the second, flip it upside down, and overlap it (point pointing "down") over the first carat symbol, so in their five-swuare-long "legs" they share the third square.
Brian CortijoRole icon, Icon of the Realms — 14/4/2026 1:49 AM
Thanks! The mapping system I was using has a four-in-one tiling, so it made things a bit obscure, but your answer clarified what I was asking:
-Are the tiles oriented so that their sides make step pattern, or a single, smooth line? It's the latter (so we'd use the second pairing)
-Are the "points" counted among the five tiles of each leg of each chevron? From your description, yes.
A quick attempt to clarify:
<https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1072136642162343986/1493307108718936255/Spellcircles_numbered.jpg?ex=69e9b2df&is=69e8615f&hm=411c0252414c63ae624fc76b2e4883d4fff3ebb6f7a17b21b056eaf62e3fcd9f&>
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 15/4/2026 12:09 AM
Yes, that's the "board"! Thumbs up! |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 10:42:33
On salath plant
gandalfthe28th [WOOD], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 3/12/2025 11:48 PM
Hiya Ed! I've got a deepcut here. In your 2003 article 'Small Presses of Waterdeep, Part Two', you mention in a sample passage of 'Engelvaer's Poison and Sickness Remedies' something called a 'salath plant'. Looks like it's not mentioned anywhere else on the internet, so I was wondering if you had any information on what this plant is? I do love me some fantasy botany
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 10/4/2026 11:55 AM
Salath is a very common weed or growing-without-cultivation grassland wild plant. It’s ground-hugging and has light green (almost “chocolate mint ice cream” in hue) leaves, eight or more growing outwards in a star at ground level: think of a dandelion whose stalk-and-flower has been plucked, but leaving the still-rooted leaves behind. But whereas a dandelion has jagged, deeply-lobed leaves, salath leaves are shaped like the leaves of a lemon tree. Salath can easily be found along the Sword Coast, Heartlands, and Sea of Fallen Stars regions, from the latitudes of Neverwinter south to Calimshan, and is easily harvested, so most folk have it for kitchen herb use and for ‘physics’ (medicines) and it commands almost nothing in the marketplace (1 copper piece for a full arm-basket). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Apr 2026 : 09:23:45
On gods losing their power while away from home for too long
YukonauRole icon, Patron of The Realms — 21/6/2025 6:13 PM
In your view of the Forgotten Realms cosmology, what happens to gods who spend too much time outside their home crystal sphere or plane—do they risk losing power, influence, or even identity if they remain away too long
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 10/4/2026 11:35 AM
No, they only risk losing influence and therefore worshippers and therefore power if they fail to grant spells or otherwise respond to their clergies and their lay worshippers…their location usually has little to no bearing on this, unless they stray into a place where their access to elsewhere is controlled by a foe. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 21 Apr 2026 : 18:21:34
On entrances or passages connecting the Stonelands to the Underdark
kageura necromancer wizard [D&D], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 10/4/2026 9:04 AM
@Ed Greenwood Hi Ed, thank you as always for your hard work and amazing lore.
A quick question if you don’t mind: Are there known or suspected entrances or passages connecting the Stonelands to the Underdark?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 10/4/2026 11:32 AM
Oh, yes. Many of them. The Haunted Halls is connected to Whisper's Crypt, north of the Halls in the Stonelands, and the steep-sided ravines of the Stonelands contain many caves, some of them dead ends but many of them (we're talking hundreds) going deeper, down into the Underdark. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 21 Apr 2026 : 16:22:41
On encountering the phaerimm outside Anauroch in the 1500s DR
kageura necromancer wizard [D&D], Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 26/3/2026 11:45 PM
@Ed Greenwood In the 1500s DR, how possible is it to encounter phaerimm outside of Anauroch?
I understand the Sharn Wall was successfully mended after 1487 DR, and that most phaerimm who escaped earlier were destroyed, leaving only a small number potentially still at large.
Specifically: is there any possibility of a few escaping where the sharn wall is thinner and bulging on the edge of the stonelands
Are there known or suspected phaerimm still free elsewhere on Toril (outside Anauroch)?
Could phaerimm plausibly be found near Netherese ruins outside the desert?
Or are they now effectively confined again to the Buried Realms beneath Anauroch?
Ed Greenwood [WRIT], Role icon, Father of the Realms — 10/4/2026 8:32 AM
The Sharn Wall holds, and the War Wizards of Cormyr are vigilant; no phaerimm have escaped into Toril by that way. At least yet.
However, there are at least two, possibly three, phaerimm lurking “loose” on Toril, but they are paranoid about being discovered by the Chosen or Mystra or Larloch or other really powerful individuals, so they tend to work through mortal agents who don’t know their “master” is a phaerimm, and tend to stay hidden near dragon lairs no one dares to go near…
Their names, according to Elminster, are Cakkahaol (“Cack-ah-HAY-oal”) and Trothkrael (“Truth [but pronounced like “truss” without the ‘s’ sound]-yul-CRAY-yel”). He doesn’t know the name of the third, or even if it remains on Toril.
Cakkahaol is—or was—lurking in one of the backup lairs of the infamous red wyrm Klauth, Riven Mountain, a cracked and split peak due east of Hellgate Keep, across the River Delimbiyr. Trothkrael is believed to be hiding somewhere in—or under—the Marching Mountains. |
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