| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Alaundo |
Posted - 26 Jan 2005 : 23:12:26
Well met
This being a collective scroll of any questions the Scribes and visitors of Candlekeep wish to put to a renowned game designer of the Realms, namely - Steven Schend. Steven worked at TSR\WotC from 1990-2000 and has a vast array of products to his name. The top few being: Ruins of Undermountain (editor), City of Splendors (editor/developer/designer), Lands of Intrigue (designer), Cormanthyr/Fall of Myth Drannor (designer) and
Sea of Fallen Stars (designer)
Present your questions herein and check back to see what news may also come forth from the quill of this Realms master. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Demzer |
Posted - 01 Oct 2025 : 09:18:35
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
Launching a query here to see if there'd be any interest or if the echo in my own head is what's bugging me....
If I were to restart my website/blog and start doing brief annotations of my first novel BLACKSTAFF to help readers ID where info and references came from, why I put something into play, etc, would anyone be interested in reading that at all?
Granted, the bulk of the references and necessary annotations would be in the latter third of the book, but I'd force myself to reread the novel and add in commentary and notes as I went to explain either my process or why someone or something got dropped in there. Perhaps might even elaborate on characters who'd only appeared in the novel and never since, like some tavern owners with their own relationship with the Blackstaff for one reason or other...
Steven
who's curious and needing more paying projects so he's drumming up ways to remind people he's a wordsmith
Count me interested! |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Oct 2025 : 01:26:20
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
Launching a query here to see if there'd be any interest or if the echo in my own head is what's bugging me....
If I were to restart my website/blog and start doing brief annotations of my first novel BLACKSTAFF to help readers ID where info and references came from, why I put something into play, etc, would anyone be interested in reading that at all?
Granted, the bulk of the references and necessary annotations would be in the latter third of the book, but I'd force myself to reread the novel and add in commentary and notes as I went to explain either my process or why someone or something got dropped in there. Perhaps might even elaborate on characters who'd only appeared in the novel and never since, like some tavern owners with their own relationship with the Blackstaff for one reason or other...
Steven
who's curious and needing more paying projects so he's drumming up ways to remind people he's a wordsmith
I'd be interested. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 30 Sep 2025 : 20:59:17
I'm a realmslore uber nerd, so if you want to divulge information related to the Forgotten Realms, then i want to read it. |
| Scots Dragon |
Posted - 30 Sep 2025 : 19:54:44
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
Launching a query here to see if there'd be any interest or if the echo in my own head is what's bugging me....
If I were to restart my website/blog and start doing brief annotations of my first novel BLACKSTAFF to help readers ID where info and references came from, why I put something into play, etc, would anyone be interested in reading that at all?
Granted, the bulk of the references and necessary annotations would be in the latter third of the book, but I'd force myself to reread the novel and add in commentary and notes as I went to explain either my process or why someone or something got dropped in there. Perhaps might even elaborate on characters who'd only appeared in the novel and never since, like some tavern owners with their own relationship with the Blackstaff for one reason or other...
Steven
who's curious and needing more paying projects so he's drumming up ways to remind people he's a wordsmith
I absolutely adore seeing writers annotate and explain their works so I'd definitely be interested. |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 30 Sep 2025 : 18:28:34
Launching a query here to see if there'd be any interest or if the echo in my own head is what's bugging me....
If I were to restart my website/blog and start doing brief annotations of my first novel BLACKSTAFF to help readers ID where info and references came from, why I put something into play, etc, would anyone be interested in reading that at all?
Granted, the bulk of the references and necessary annotations would be in the latter third of the book, but I'd force myself to reread the novel and add in commentary and notes as I went to explain either my process or why someone or something got dropped in there. Perhaps might even elaborate on characters who'd only appeared in the novel and never since, like some tavern owners with their own relationship with the Blackstaff for one reason or other...
Steven
who's curious and needing more paying projects so he's drumming up ways to remind people he's a wordsmith |
| Raserys |
Posted - 27 Oct 2024 : 15:54:05
Aha! Thanks very much to you all! |
| kysus |
Posted - 21 Oct 2024 : 05:07:38
YES!!! That is it, I got it confused. I made a copy of it apparently super late at night and forgot to put a reference on it. thank you for finding that for me Tbeholder and sorry again for the confusion. |
| TBeholder |
Posted - 20 Oct 2024 : 06:26:36
quote:
Originally posted by kysus
i have notes on this somewhere, there was a post awhile back where Ed greenwood answered this question and gave the coat of arms for clan Irithyl and vyshan.
Search for "Irithyl" by The Hooded One returns nothing.
I found a post from Steven Schend back in 2008 (in this very thread), however: over here.
|
| George Krashos |
Posted - 19 Oct 2024 : 05:25:10
I don't recall seeing this. Don't suppose you have a reference?
EDIT: In saying that, I have personally come up with arms for Aryvandaar, the Vyshaan and Aryvandaar under the Vyshaan.
-- George Krashos |
| kysus |
Posted - 17 Oct 2024 : 20:23:44
i have notes on this somewhere, there was a post awhile back where Ed greenwood answered this question and gave the coat of arms for clan Irithyl and vyshan. |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 16 Oct 2024 : 21:16:25
quote:
Originally posted by Raserys
Hi Steven, as part of my research for an upcoming campaign, I was reading through Cormanthyr, Empire of the Elves, and in the section listing the various elven clans, the Irithyls didn't get an entry like the other clans did. Do they have their own heraldry, and if they do, what is it?
I suspect that I might have once had separate notes as per the Irithyl heraldry but as they'd been the royal family/leaders of Cormanthyr (and realms before that too), their personal coats of arms had become the realm's marks.
Not much of an answer, I'm afraid; George or Eric might have other notes and other ideas, but I dug through my notes and came up wanting. |
| Raserys |
Posted - 30 Sep 2024 : 16:12:54
Hi Steven, as part of my research for an upcoming campaign, I was reading through Cormanthyr, Empire of the Elves, and in the section listing the various elven clans, the Irithyls didn't get an entry like the other clans did. Do they have their own heraldry, and if they do, what is it? |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 25 Jul 2024 : 14:30:07
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Steven,
Just wondering... love that lore though I would have to study more as I bet there's some hidden stuff there I'm not catching... but what was the source of the falling out that made these children anathema? Was it something to do with parentage (i.e. were they children born of say an elven-fey breeding, such as nymph-born, dryad-born, Leshay-born, Eladrin-born, etc...)? Was it something to do with religion (i.e. how dare you worship a human god)? Was it something to do with study or use of some rune, glyph, magical circle, etc... (since I note two of the gods mentioned are gods of symbology/runes/glyphs)?
EDIT: Ah, I just reread that entry....the reason is lost to time.. so undeveloped. Might be fun to play with.
Also, I know you say these particular individuals didn't have children to progress their lines. Might we find that that has something to do with their fellow clansmen forcibly halting those lines, or were things not THAT volatile between them? For instance, if some of them had had half-elven children, might those children have deliberately been sent upon orders into dangerous situations that were likely to get them killed because someone from the other side of the family bribed an elven military leader to make sure that these children specifically got harrowing duties?
Take whatever paths your imagination wishes to take you on, Sleyvas.
All I'll say to pique interest is that Saalreia's hatred and bias contrasted greatly with those among the Echorn clan in the millennium since her passing. Where from her ill will grew is a story that no Echorn could prove or discover even if they wished…
Hmmm, that kind of hate .... that could be fun to play with. Possibly a secret she stumbled upon that she felt would seriously discredit the family line if anyone discovered it, such that she never spoke of it to anyone lest it be unfurled.
My first thoughts with that kind of familial hate is something akin to just pure disgust at something..... in our world that might be incest... it might be drug abuse... as I mentioned above, it could be cross-racial breeding.. and perhaps the best story would be a misunderstanding that she never clears up because she never talks about it.
So, that thought in mind going to play with it for a minute (and sorry for cluttering your thread) ...
With a fascination with runes/symbology .... maybe Hoaral and Ahrendue learned some forbidden magic from their mother. Maybe they learned of binding, and Ahrendue's focus on magic tied to religions was her trying to find vestige symbology from lost gods. Maybe Hoaral's tendency to hoard his magical knowledge was because he saw how his grandmother had turned against the two of them for practicing it.
Along these lines, maybe their mother had been a priestess of Tyche, turned binder after the death of her goddess, who discovered a way to bind the vestige of Tyche that was infected by Moander's rose .... and she did so while pregnant, producing twins later, such that the grandmother assumed the children were somehow anathema to the gods.
Other gods who were also "twinned"/"split" work here as well. It could also be something like she caught the children binding Karsus, a being whom the grandmother might have viewed as having potentially destroying the world, having ruined the dire wood, etc.... and seeing him manifesting as a bleeding, talking boulder would look macabre enough to someone watching from a crack in the door, etc...
It could also be both of these things... the mother seeing her daughter binding a vestige of the infected Tyche while pregnant... and later seeing her grandchildren binding Karsus.
Thinking about stuff likes this makes me wonder about concepts like, "is there a vestige of Araushnee prior to her being cast out?" |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 24 Jul 2024 : 02:09:31
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Steven,
Just wondering... love that lore though I would have to study more as I bet there's some hidden stuff there I'm not catching... but what was the source of the falling out that made these children anathema? Was it something to do with parentage (i.e. were they children born of say an elven-fey breeding, such as nymph-born, dryad-born, Leshay-born, Eladrin-born, etc...)? Was it something to do with religion (i.e. how dare you worship a human god)? Was it something to do with study or use of some rune, glyph, magical circle, etc... (since I note two of the gods mentioned are gods of symbology/runes/glyphs)?
EDIT: Ah, I just reread that entry....the reason is lost to time.. so undeveloped. Might be fun to play with.
Also, I know you say these particular individuals didn't have children to progress their lines. Might we find that that has something to do with their fellow clansmen forcibly halting those lines, or were things not THAT volatile between them? For instance, if some of them had had half-elven children, might those children have deliberately been sent upon orders into dangerous situations that were likely to get them killed because someone from the other side of the family bribed an elven military leader to make sure that these children specifically got harrowing duties?
Take whatever paths your imagination wishes to take you on, Sleyvas.
All I'll say to pique interest is that Saalreia's hatred and bias contrasted greatly with those among the Echorn clan in the millennium since her passing. Where from her ill will grew is a story that no Echorn could prove or discover even if they wished… |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 22 Jul 2024 : 13:19:36
Steven,
Just wondering... love that lore though I would have to study more as I bet there's some hidden stuff there I'm not catching... but what was the source of the falling out that made these children anathema? Was it something to do with parentage (i.e. were they children born of say an elven-fey breeding, such as nymph-born, dryad-born, Leshay-born, Eladrin-born, etc...)? Was it something to do with religion (i.e. how dare you worship a human god)? Was it something to do with study or use of some rune, glyph, magical circle, etc... (since I note two of the gods mentioned are gods of symbology/runes/glyphs)?
EDIT: Ah, I just reread that entry....the reason is lost to time.. so undeveloped. Might be fun to play with.
Also, I know you say these particular individuals didn't have children to progress their lines. Might we find that that has something to do with their fellow clansmen forcibly halting those lines, or were things not THAT volatile between them? For instance, if some of them had had half-elven children, might those children have deliberately been sent upon orders into dangerous situations that were likely to get them killed because someone from the other side of the family bribed an elven military leader to make sure that these children specifically got harrowing duties? |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 20 Jul 2024 : 22:29:01
quote:
Originally posted by Italian Archmage Karsus
Sage, another question. In p. 114 of Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves, there is a clan archmage, Ahrendaaria Echorn. Is that the "official" name of Ahrendue Echorn, or are they intended to be two different people? I can find no further references to either anywhere...
They are different people, Ahrendaaria being the far younger of them. Both were highly talented in Art (and both of them secretly were High Mages at different times during Cormanthyr's height).
Ahrendaaria Echorn, noted as the Clan Archmage circa 650 DR, rose to that position in 589 DR, upon the death of Hoaral Echorn (a bitter and grasping miser who held white-knuckled tight to any magical knowledge he could). Hoaral ironically fell victim to his own paranoia, as he ever ate alone, so none were at hand to help dislodge a piece of stewed game stuck in his throat.
Hoaral was the twin brother of Ahrendue Echorn, whose liberal attitudes stood in diametric opposition to his and kept the twins distant for centuries. She shared magic with any and all (regardless of species or training) and while many knew of her status as a High Mage, very few knew of her fascination with magic tied to religions. Some of those rare friends whispered of Ahrendue having covert relationships with the churches (if not the gods themselves) of Alathrien Druanna, Deneir, and Mystra, although no proofs have ever been found to corroborate such.
For reasons long lost to time (and a strong campaign of information eradication inside the clan annals), both twins and their parents were loathed by then-Clan Elder and matriarch Saalreia Echorn (the twins' paternal grandmother) and removed from any potential birthright clan title succession in 208 DR. While not banished from the clan nor forbidden to carry its name, the family was anathema inside clan social circles for over two centuries.
The four outcasts were immediately embraced by their mother's uncle Neldor and his abundant family. Others within the clan were shocked by the defiance of the matriarch's will, but most folk among Cormanthyr's boughs knew of Neldor's heart and integrity, which stood in blatant opposition to the less-than-kind hearts in control of Clan Echorn until the late 6th century Dalereckoning.
Neldor's prolific line had previously been removed from lines of succession in clan leadership by two elder brothers and an elder sister whose many children and surviving lines guaranteed their exile outside clan prominence. Neldor's and Liaer's sheer fecundity—eleven out of 17 children surviving to adulthood, followed by 59 grandchildren and over 200 great-grandchildren—bulwarked the presence and strength of the Echorn clan name throughout the entirety of Myth Drannor's existence.
Neither Hoaral nor Ahrendue had children who survived to adulthood, nor did any of their three marriages outlast such losses. These tragedies occurred in the 3rd through 5th centuries DR, much to the private delight of some clan members who continued Saalreia's biases and ire centuries past her death in 411 DR. All sorrows aside, none could gainsay the talents in Art that both Hoaral and Ahrendue wielded for Cormanthyr and for their clan.
Ahrendue actually was in attendance as one of the midwives for the birth of Ahrendaaria and her name was partially in honor of her deep friendship with Liaer, Ahrendaaria's mother.
I'll admit that this is a lot of lore dumped upon your question without as many concrete dates; part of that is because I can't doublecheck all dates right now but also because there's a lot of magical and religious lore that can be mined from the stories of both women.
Oh and that doesn't even mention Ahrendaaria's youngest son Ahrendorr, whose heroic actions long after the fall of Myth Drannor are legends in and of themselves…. |
| Italian Archmage Karsus |
Posted - 20 Jul 2024 : 16:43:31
Sage, another question. In p. 114 of Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves, there is a clan archmage, Ahrendaaria Echorn. Is that the "official" name of Ahrendue Echorn, or are they intended to be two different people? I can find no further references to either anywhere... |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 20 Nov 2023 : 01:17:14
quote:
Originally posted by Italian Archmage Karsus
Sage, if I may ask, there's a "Mythanthor's Orb" in Dungeon Crawl: Hellgate Keep. I was wondering, was that intended to refer to the mage Mythanthar, from the Cormanthyr that was later known as Myth Drannor? Mythanthar's name, we've found sometimes styled as Mythanthor, including in works of yours. Just checking- is it intended to be read as the same Mythanthor/Mythanthar?
All auguries point to yes, the self-same Mythanthar who helped build Cormanthyr's mythal(s) also penned Mythanthar's Folio, the collected scrolls from which Khelben & Elminster gleaned the ways to build the Mythanthar's Orb given to the PCs by Alustriel.
Is it directly tied to that famed elf? Only by his knowledge and lore, not by his physical touch or creation. |
| Italian Archmage Karsus |
Posted - 04 Sep 2023 : 19:18:02
Sage, if I may ask, there's a "Mythanthor's Orb" in Dungeon Crawl: Hellgate Keep. I was wondering, was that intended to refer to the mage Mythanthar, from the Cormanthyr that was later known as Myth Drannor? Mythanthar's name, we've found sometimes styled as Mythanthor, including in works of yours. Just checking- is it intended to be read as the same Mythanthor/Mythanthar? |
| cpthero2 |
Posted - 29 Aug 2023 : 20:43:45
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend
quote:
Originally posted by Jeiroth
Hello Mr. Schend,
I had posed this question to the Hooded one in an earlier topic, but after looking at Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves I noticed that you were the glorious author of that magnanimous pice of work.
Therefore I was wondering if you could possibly answer my question, which is:
The family crests/symbols of the Vyshaan and the Irythil. You astutely included ones for most of the rest of the elven noble families (thank you!) but unfortunately my campaign is also centering around Vyshaan, and Irythil. I wanted to make them somewhat authentic adventures, as such I wanted to get an explanation for their crests and include those on shields, doorways etc.
Thank you,
If this conflicts with any previous and/or published lore, know that that should take precedence over a late afternoon brainstorm, okay? 
Vyshaan seal/shield/family mark: Round black shield bordered in gold band with six red ovals surrounding a white diamond at the center. This can also be placed on a kite-shaped shield, but the blazon is smaller with more black, obviously.
Irithyl seal/shield/family mark: Blue and black shield rimmed in silver, a diagonal line running top right to lower left puts black in upper left and blue in lower right fields. The emblem itself is a white wolfhound with black eyes rearing up with claws extended to the left (Can't remember for certain, but this might technically be Wolfhound Volant Sinister....but don't quote me on that.)
Hope those work as symbols/family marks for you.
Steven
|
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 06 Aug 2023 : 05:06:04
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
quote:
Originally posted by Italian Archmage Karsus
Mr. Schend, hey. Someone asked me if the realm of Shantel Othreier had any other titles - like Aryvandaar was the Golden Kingdom. She can't find it anywhere, and neither could I. So, I was wondering, are you aware of any other official names for Shantel Othreier?
For what it's worth, Eric Boyd and I have named Shantel Othreier the "Realm of Golden Boughs".
-- George Krashos
That works for me so make it so.
|
| George Krashos |
Posted - 25 Jul 2023 : 14:16:38
quote:
Originally posted by Italian Archmage Karsus
Mr. Schend, hey. Someone asked me if the realm of Shantel Othreier had any other titles - like Aryvandaar was the Golden Kingdom. She can't find it anywhere, and neither could I. So, I was wondering, are you aware of any other official names for Shantel Othreier?
For what it's worth, Eric Boyd and I have named Shantel Othreier the "Realm of Golden Boughs".
-- George Krashos |
| Italian Archmage Karsus |
Posted - 24 Jul 2023 : 23:11:17
Mr. Schend, hey. Someone asked me if the realm of Shantel Othreier had any other titles - like Aryvandaar was the Golden Kingdom. She can't find it anywhere, and neither could I. So, I was wondering, are you aware of any other official names for Shantel Othreier? |
| kysus |
Posted - 08 Apr 2023 : 05:33:47
Steven Schend those answers are good enough for me!!
If i may ask a follow up question to that, say for example if a dragon lost its rider like say for instance one of those dragons from myth drannor that had a rider and the rider passed away from old age or battle how likely would it be that they take on another rider, or is that something that is more up to the personality of the dragon in question? |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 08 Apr 2023 : 02:24:57
quote:
Originally posted by kysus
hi steven schend, merry christmas and a happy new years to you! I also wanted to ask a quick question of you before the new years starts that i thought you might know. when reading your cormanthyr book i was reading the part on the elven dragonriders and how those were among the last riders or at least gave the impression that they were becoming extremely rare. out of curiousity what was the cause of them becoming more and more rare or to put it another way what made it so hard to train new riders? was it something that took centuries to train or some unique form of pairing rider with mount?
Bear in mind this is all my opinion and I've not delved back into any deep hidden lore to answer your queries, so mistakes are all my own.
Answering your questions in reverse order (because whimsy, that's why!):
Dragonriders and their mounts build rapport over decades if not scores of years before it becomes easy for them to ride/fly into battle together.
Part of why I decided those were among the last dragonriders around Myth Drannor was that it'd make it doubly hard for the Army of Darkness to take out elven forces with that kind of firepower at the ready.
The other reason was that having dragonriders around made it look far too much like Dragonlance/Krynn, so we waved them offstage for clarity of intellectual property.
Again, wish I had deeper or better answers for you, but these are all that my tired brain can spew forth today.
Steven |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 08 Apr 2023 : 02:10:03
quote:
Originally posted by DoveArrow
Hello Mr. Schend,
First of all, I wanted to thank you for all the work you've done over the years. I have been reading the Second Edition books on the Lands of Intrigue for several adventures I've been writing and am just enamored with the region and the work that you put into those publications. Thank you.
I wanted to ask about the 4e history of Erlkazar. Were you consulted on any of it? Whose idea was it to make Saestra and the Night Barony the primary villains of the region?
No, I wasn't consulted re the 4E changes to Erlkazar at all, nor did I expect to; I was long gone from WotC at that point and my opinion wasn't sought after too often by some even when I was on staff. (shrug)
No idea whose ideas spawned the changes to the Night Barony and the Twisted Rune et al, though it might have been anyone whose name was on the 4E FR book (though not Ed, as he'd have given me a call to talk about such, being a gentleman).
For some reason, I thought Jess Lebow's novel MASTER OF CHAINS took place in Erlkazar or in similar environs, but I doubt that'd have had anything to do with bumping Shyressa out of the way for their sliding in ANOTHER lissome female vampire into Erlkazar…
Wish I had more info to share, and apologies it took me so long to get back to Candlekeep to post this answer…
Steven |
| DoveArrow |
Posted - 16 Mar 2023 : 15:55:23
Hello Mr. Schend,
First of all, I wanted to thank you for all the work you've done over the years. I have been reading the Second Edition books on the Lands of Intrigue for several adventures I've been writing and am just enamored with the region and the work that you put into those publications. Thank you.
I wanted to ask about the 4e history of Erlkazar. Were you consulted on any of it? Whose idea was it to make Saestra and the Night Barony the primary villains of the region? |
| kysus |
Posted - 24 Dec 2022 : 01:20:45
hi steven schend, merry christmas and a happy new years to you! I also wanted to ask a quick question of you before the new years starts that i thought you might know. when reading your cormanthyr book i was reading the part on the elven dragonriders and how those were among the last riders or at least gave the impression that they were becoming extremely rare. out of curiousity what was the cause of them becoming more and more rare or to put it another way what made it so hard to train new riders? was it something that took centuries to train or some unique form of pairing rider with mount? |
| Italian Archmage Karsus |
Posted - 04 Oct 2022 : 02:15:08
Thank you both for this information! |
| Steven Schend |
Posted - 02 Oct 2022 : 05:06:28
George has the right of it here, Karsus. All it takes to muddle some lore is to edit out the word "new" and confusion reigns!
Of course, it could have easily been a rushed deadline and a lack of editing double-check too; while I respect and love the folks who did the Castle Spulzeer adventure, I didn't have much of a direct hand in that one other than to provide them the lore and prayed they held to it. ;)
Steven
who's always grateful that George is more worried about my timelines being correct than I have been |
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