| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 09 Jan 2019 : 16:19:25
It occurs to me that Ed has been posting Realmslore on the Twitter, and not everyone has the Twitter.
So I thought a single place where such lore could be collected would be a good thing. 
Ed is a frequent poster there, adding all sorts of Stormtalons and Epic Fantasy stuff, but for the purposes of this thread, I'd like to keep it focused on his Realmslore.
(I'm also stickying this thread, to make it easier to find)
Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) on Twitter
The #Realmslore hashtag on Twitter |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Sep 2023 : 23:20:39
On infrastructure surrounding waste removal in the Forgotten Realms
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1705307995532378459
Sep 23, 2023
@TheEdVerse
I've made a video answering a question that I am asked much more frequently than you would imagine!
Come with me to explore the infrastructure surrounding waste removal in the Forgotten Realms!
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtOLD-XFbZU> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Sep 2023 : 23:15:19
On shipping around the Scar
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1705006785109577975 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1705006786564997480
Sep 22, 2023
@luckshade
@TheEdVerse This is a good question. On top of that, would the river Ashaba be deep enough and wide enough to support shipping in and out of the Scar? #realmslore
@TheEdVerse
By the 1490s DR, navigation on the various tributaries above the Pool of Yeven is only by very small open boats and nutshells (coracles), or barges, poled to hold against the current, or paddled to move with it. Below the Pool, barges and the equivalent of real-world “York boats” and catamarans (two identical hulls, platform between with rudder), where the river was wider, but still shallow, and slower-moving than above the Pool. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 22 Sep 2023 : 23:13:03
On Balduran's race
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1704330939990491180 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1704515325910262226
Sep 20, 2023
@zasheenda
@TheEdVerse @larianstudios I am just so confused by Baldur's Gate 3 and want some clarification on Balduran's race. Was he an elf or a human?
@TheEdVerse
He was human. (See his entry in the FR Wiki.)
@zasheenda
Thanks for replying! Actually, that's exactly why I am asking, because we have a debate over his race while editing the FR wiki. The Baldurs Gate 3 has murals painting him as an elf, while no former DND material specified his race. Should the @baldursgate3 change the mural then?
@TheEdVerse
Murals can reflect an artist's ideals (an elf making the mural wanted to claim him as an elf?), but although Balduran wasn't my creation, he's definitely been a human from his beginnings as a character; that featured in discussions re. his getting Gate investors. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 18 Sep 2023 : 10:11:33
On how baelnorns are made
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1703471499485594044
Sep 18, 2023
@Chibie_vet
@TheEdVerse Hi Mr. Greenwood #128513; I'm a still a bit new to DnD, but I read you're sometimes able to answer questions. I've been reading up on lore for the Baelnorn. My character has reason/need to learn all she can about them & how they're made. Could I leaner it in Candlekeep?
@TheEdVerse
I created the baelnorn, and everyone else saw them first in the Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set. Yes, there are several tomes in Candlekeep that cover how elves become baelnorn. It is almost always a voluntary choice, to enter a lich-like state to exist beyond death as a guardian (in Myth Drannor, of family crypts, but elsewhere they serve as guardians of living kin, of communities they love, or of sites important to them, such as temples, groves sacred to a deity they are close to, and so on; some even function as trapmakers, or loremasters training living elves, particularly in spellcraft).
One usually becomes a baelnorn through participation in a High Magic or divine ritual (and it is these rituals that are recorded in rare and well-hidden books, such as those found in the reached-via-portals-only, bedrock-surrounded Inner Chambers of Candlekeep). They invariably require the assistance of other spellcasters.
The other ways of becomimg a baelnorn are via dedication rituals after achieving actual lichdom (phylactery and all) or through the divine boon of one of the Seldarine, usually granted only after fervent prayer or when an elf the deity has noticed and approves of the service of is stricken and dying, and to save them the Seldarine makes them a baelnorn. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Sep 2023 : 03:36:06
On popular colors worn by priestess and priestesses of Eilistraee
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1703211172047044871
Sep 17, 2023
@Michael75535436
@TheEdVerse, what are the popular colors worn by priestess and priestesses of Eilistraee?
@TheEdVerse
Throat to wrists & ankles: black with silver highlights (shoulders, nipples, elbows, knees, thighs) to represent moonlight.
Cloaks and overmantles: midnight blue (deep rich blue, one shade darker/more purple than royal blue, with random scattered TINY stars=sparkles).
@Michael75535436
Thank you so much. Do you know of any depictions of these followers in art? I ask because I want to make my Eilistraeean character look as authentic as possible.
@TheEdVerse
Not that I can recall. Most artists went straight to the nekkid drow ladies dancing in a circle under the moonlight. I have my rough sketches somewhere in those two shipping containers... |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Sep 2023 : 03:33:18
On eating nautiloids
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1703210120979599421
Sep 17, 2023
@RedNoBlue
Hi @TheEdVerse I hope you've been well.
I had a question about nautiloids.
Could you eat it? Like, crashed mind flayer ship, those ship tentacles sure look tasty!
@TheEdVerse
Sure. The tentacles are REALLY tough (like a thick callous) and bitter; properly marinated, taste like burnt almonds (LOTS of flesh, so bring friends).
Cook THOROUGHLY, or mind-links will survive, and mind flayers who controlled the tentacles will control YOU. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Sep 2023 : 03:29:35
On arches (and architecture) in Thay
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1702860733921329489
Sep 16, 2023
@DndTravellog
@TheEdVerse A curiosity has beset me in just what exactly are the architectural hallmarks of Thay, are Arches common? Do they fall for the wizards favoured tower motif?
@TheEdVerse
Arches are. See THAY Land of the Red Wizards, the book Alex Kammer, Alan Patrick, and I did (on DM's Guild, hardcover, soft, or e-). I cover Thayan architecture therein. Thayan mages have walled compounds with, yes, internal towers (attached to mansions). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Sep 2023 : 03:25:17
On Wingless Wonders
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1702769282109645227
Sep 16, 2023
@TheEdVerse
Does anyone remember this fun little monster from my write-up in The Dragon Magazine?
In my newest video, I talk all about the wingless wonder as I reflect on the importance of finding "the story" in things.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZvuRIYCqCA> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 15 Sep 2023 : 10:30:11
On Murdane
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1702421869591457918
Sep 15, 2023
@TheEdVerse
If you haven't seen last week's #realmslore, please watch my video on the goddess, Murdane!
Only ever having appeared briefly in Grand History of the Realms and Faiths and Pantheons, Murdane is a deity that fans have been wondering about for years. :}
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13yvrBNMPx4> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 10 Sep 2023 : 11:49:38
On the sensitivity of the base of a tiefling's tail
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1700165490813915223
Sep 8, 2023
@ChillHill1123
@TheEdVerse Just how sensitive is the base of a tiefling tail? Is it an erogenous zone? For research purposes... ;}
@TheEdVerse
On top, it's a place that can itch, so scratching it can bring relief. Underneath...oh, yes, it's...arousing.
Or (ahem) so I'm told.
|
| questing gm |
Posted - 10 Sep 2023 : 11:41:37
On Gorstag from Lords of Darkness (2e)
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1699807968282255568
Sep 7, 2023
@ItalianKarsus
@TheEdVerse hey... I was looking for data on Gorstag, Shandril's boss back in Highmoon. I noticed Lords of Darkness (2e) mentions an adventurer, Gorstag, who said once "Save your breath for running".
Is it the same Gorstag?
@TheEdVerse
It is.
His life-tale is long and interesting. I'll do a video on it, in time. :} |
| questing gm |
Posted - 10 Sep 2023 : 11:34:13
On what the undead in Warlock's Crypt do for fun
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1699807238817194145
Sep 7, 2023
@Bigguycc
@TheEdVerse Thinking of giving my player the options to graze the edge of warlocks Crypt. I was curious, in case they get captured or go into it, what the undead there do for fun?
@TheEdVerse
The many liches who serve Larloch trap intruders, enspell them to become agents for their many schemes, and send them back out into the world compelled to carry out their commands.
The liches are carrying out Larloch’s wishes, but also competing endlessly with each other, vying for more influence with Larloch. Considering his fate at the hands of the Srinshee, they’re in for a surprise.
I will be covering this in a future video (on my YouTube channel, and in more depth on my Patreon). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 10 Sep 2023 : 11:25:25
On nation or major faction that tried to demand fealty from Elminster
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1698330503449866368
Sep 3, 2023
@Xjandinast
@TheEdVerse It was nice seeing Elminster in BG3, seems like he is a cleric of sorts even in the books.
Was there ever a point where a nation or major faction tried to demand fealty from Elminster for the "greater good" with a show of force on standby.
@TheEdVerse
Early on in the careers of the Chosen, yes. Since Mystra has made her views on such coercion very clear, not so much. ;} |
| TBeholder |
Posted - 06 Sep 2023 : 02:26:51
Digging in my old archives (prompted by Italian Archmage Karsus):
quote:
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/829551256234577921
9 Feb 2017
TheEdVerse>
Adventurer and pirate Karvren Shrangrel of Harrport is sponsoring “new” adventuring bands, connecting them to clients.
# StormtalonsWhispers https://t.co/sKPUBeGHFs https://pic.twitter.com/sKPUBeGHFs
TBeholder> @TheEdVerse
This.
It puzzles me when adventurers are common, but no mediators/brokers, only inns with dark corners… http://www.weregeek.com/2007/12/07/
TheEdVerse> @TBeholder
Heh. You haven't played in the Realms with me as DM. Annoying go-betweens, courtiers, and "fixers" are everywhere. ;}
TheEdVerse> @TBeholder
But I've had my share of fun in dark corners. Hur-hur.
(that comic is now here) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 02 Sep 2023 : 09:34:07
On Dragonward in Waterdeep in 5E
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1697792171552719191
Sep 2, 2023
@crowley4004
@TheEdVerse Dragon Heist states that a Dragonward is keeping dragons outside of Waterdeep (besides Aurinax). But I'm finding sources of multiple dragons in Waterdeep in the 14th and 15th centuries. (Most sources from 3e). Is the Dragonward a new addition in 5e?
For example, apparently a steel dragon in the guise of a human (Jalanvaloss) lives in Waterdeep, and a blue dragon came to a Raptoran sorceress in Waterdeep seeking help. Did these characters circumvent the dragonward or is this a retcon? Thanks in advance.
@TheEdVerse
I created the Dragonward before D&D existed (1968, if I recall correctly).
Tokens (enchanted items) and other means exist to circumvent or slip through the ward, and some of them have been covered in published Realmslore down the years. So, no, not a 5e addition. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 02 Sep 2023 : 08:41:17
On Susprina's story on YouTube
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1697589975074701569
Sep 1, 2023
@TheEdVerse
With the NDA official lifted (in place since 1991), we just brought Susprina's story to YouTube! I'm so happy to finally be able to talk openly about Elminster's Mysterious Drow Apprentice, and what wonderful tale it is!
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQBgqdEArYE> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 01 Sep 2023 : 14:12:29
On mages from another world without the Weave forced to cast through manipulation of the Weave
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1697266801812324489
Aug 31, 2023
@groudon466
@TheEdVerse When a mage from another world without the Weave or an equivalent (perhaps one from the Inner Planes) comes to Toril, are they forced to cast through manipulation of the Weave instead? Or can they cast with their own methods as usual?
@TheEdVerse
They can cast with their own methods. (Some spells may not work, or may vary in effects or duration.) The Weave is the "superhighway" conduit to accessing the raw energies of the world, but you can walk. Or take a dirt road through the fields. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Aug 2023 : 12:48:26
On the Realms' most unexpected vampires
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1695818727218901009
Aug 27, 2023
@TheEdVerse
New video!
Allow me to introduce you to some of the Realms' most unexpected vampires. Here I share 1... 2... 3! 3 vampires for your games, ha-ha (I couldn't resist)! ;}
Curious what a vampire dragon might look like? How about a mimic?
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKdx9LlQEoY> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Aug 2023 : 05:40:06
On books/lore/adventures on the Moonshaes
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1695477989457211651
Aug 27, 2023
@MoseyDm
I haven’t read much at all of D&D novels but someone has to have done books/lore/adventures about the islands off the Sword Coast, right?
<https://twitter.com/MoseyDm/status/1695181984635449595/photo/1>
@TheEdVerse
Eric Menge just wrapped an HUGE AdvLeague adventure path w/Baldman Games, set in the Moonshaes.
I did a 2e campaign "DM's toolbox" supplement for the Moonshaes entitled HALLS OF THE HIGH KING (get your moonwells here!), that follows FR2 Moonshaes by Doug Niles. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Aug 2023 : 05:36:22
On the Gift for psionics
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1694968050510893356
Aug 25, 2023
@Contiguouskitt1
@TheEdVerse One more question. In the 3rd ed Forgotten Realms Campaign guide it mentions that anyone sufficiently dedicated can use psionics. Does that mean that psionics doesn't require "The Gift" like Arcane magic does?
@TheEdVerse
Yes. The mind can be developed, usually with guidance if any precise control is desired. Good tutors who aren't VERY dangerous to pupils are, however, rare.
Whereas if you lack the Gift, you just can't wield the Art, except by triggering items enchanted by others.
@Contiguouskitt1
Is The Gift another way of referring to ability scores (Int, Charisma) or is it more esoteric than that?
@TheEdVerse
The Gift is the ability to wield the Art (arcane magic). It has nothing directly to do with game stats (D&D came along a decade after the Realms). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 20 Aug 2023 : 08:01:58
On re-establishing the Trade Way
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1692571106677342281
Aug 19, 2023
@TheSaltminer
Out of interest @TheEdVerse, is it just that nobody’s had the idea of re-establishing the Trade Way? Seems like too convenient a thing to just leave broken, what with a trade hub literally called the City of Caravans on a road north just going to no man’s land.
@TheEdVerse
The Trade Way is flourishing, and always has been. Don't be misled by the maps. It "peters out" because that stretch of countryside allows wagons to go anywhere, so every caravan takes its own route to discourage bandits, avoid ruts from earlier caravans, etc. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 20 Aug 2023 : 07:58:58
On new 2-part video series on the Masked Lords of Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1692546204771504193
@TheEdVerse
Another video in the books!
Today we're talking about a powerful organization in the Realms that governs from the shadows. ;}
Be sure not to miss my new 2-part video series on the Masked Lords of Waterdeep!
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62gWRhcqi0Y> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Aug 2023 : 13:24:48
On Elvish words for dawn, daybreak, sunrise
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1692008517597532172
Aug 17, 2023
@AngelOfTheGrove
@theedverse If it's possible, I can't seem to find a Faerűnian Elvish word that means something on the order of dawn, daybreak, sunrise. I'm going for a sort of "flower of daybreak" feeling in the blade's name. Thanks in advance if you see this!
@TheEdVerse
Calam is sunrise, and aulauth is flower in the blossom (right) sense, so “Aulauthycalam” (“All-LOTH-ee-KAHL-am”) is literally ‘flower of sunrise.’
"Daybreak” is unknown in Elvish, but louah (“LOO-ah”) is dawn, so you could also have the blade be named Aulauthlouah. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Aug 2023 : 11:19:28
On stirge on toast
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1691289421633519616 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1691290474026266625 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1691291511818792960
Aug 15, 2023
@Artie_Pavlov
im making stirge on toast this weekend coz i'm traveling back home and won't have time - is making bread egg-soaked and a morningfeast - lore friendly? I think is plausible. What do you think Ed @TheEdVerse ?
@TheEdVerse
1) In the Dales, upland Sembia, Cormyr and along the Heartlands trade routes west as far as Scornubel, what Brits in our world call “eggy bread” (savory NOT sweet French toast) is a breakfast staple among farm folk. Seasoned 2) with crushed dill or diced chives, or failing that fresh parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper. Taverns and inns serve this with strips of bacon and/or a slab of sharp cheese (like strong cheddar); the hot wet eggy bread is 3) often laid atop the cheese to partially melt it, so they stick, with seasonings trapped between.
@Artie_Pavlov
But what about stirges on it? #129300;
@TheEdVerse
If you can get blood pudding, or blood sausage, the taste is pretty close to stirge.
Failing that, get some mild pepperettes, slice them in half, and fry them. Fallback is fried thin-sliced Spam but you MUST coat with HP sauce and black pepper to cut the sweetness.
@Artie_Pavlov
I’m using the recipe you shared in Ed Greenwood presents #128521; going to make sauce from scratch
@TheEdVerse
That works!
(BTW, for non-culinary, not-Brit readers, "HP sauce" is Houses of Parliament sauce (a brown sauce: tamarind and tomatoes main ingredients). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Aug 2023 : 10:44:04
On facts about some of the prime movers in Storm Giant culture
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1690031887018754048
Aug 12, 2023
@TheEdVerse
Today marks the continuation of our series on giants!
This time I am sharing facts about some of the prime movers in Storm Giant culture. #9928;#65039;
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg-r8wLMtYk> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Aug 2023 : 10:36:35
On Lathander's relevanance in the current lore
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1690016097041317888
Aug 11, 2023
@OmegaNumari
@TheEdVerse I have a lore question, is Lathander still relevant in the current lore?
@TheEdVerse
Of course! Folk in the Realms pray to the Morninglord for every new venture, most creative acts, the beginnings of friendships and partnerships, pregnancy and childbirth, mercantile pacts, and so on (and on). He is everpresent in most human lives. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 17 Aug 2023 : 10:33:31
On "common knowledge" of ancient Imaskar in 1496 DR
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1689650976142299136
Aug 10, 2023
@GregEPatterson
@TheEdVerse Great Sage! If I am planning a deep dungeon that is a relic of ancient Imaskar, how much would your average adventurer know as "common knowledge" of the ancient empire in 1496 DR?
@TheEdVerse
That long, LONG ago, there was an ancient empire, mighty in magic (and that had complex plumbing!) named Imaskar, and its folk were the Imaskari, and there was something called "High Imaskar"...and that's about it. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 09 Aug 2023 : 12:49:54
On lady dwarves looking better with or without beards
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1689106756444508160
Aug 9, 2023
@Moonflower_MG
@TheEdVerse In your opinion do lady dwarves look better with or without beards?
@TheEdVerse
It depends on the lady dwarf. I've seen some fetching fire-red thin, pointed beards on some dwarven ladies. Fair turned my head! |
| questing gm |
Posted - 09 Aug 2023 : 12:23:28
On polite greetings with dismembered goblin parts
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1689026187517976576 https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1689027280067051520
Aug 9, 2023
@dhodgs
In some Rashemi tribes it is considered impolite if you don't bash your host in the face with a dismembered goblin arm or leg and I'm sure @TheEdVerse would back me up on this #128514;#128514;
@TheEdVerse
Nowadays, a gentle tap is considered polite. "Bash" is so 1300s DR.
Unless you're signalling an eagerness for intimacy, that is.
@dhodgs
Ed...thank you for joining our fun discussion on the many uses for miscellaneous goblin parts in traditional greetings across The Realms
@TheEdVerse
My pleasure!
And I see you haven't yet touched on the genuine widest use of goblin parts: sharpened and pierced and used as sewing needles, or as pen nibs, by many beings (including goblins) right across Faerűn. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 09 Aug 2023 : 12:20:34
On a general or commander who would have campaigned from the east of Faerun to the coast anywhere between 900-1200 DR
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1688986389633728513
Aug 9, 2023
@yo_kurf
@TheEdVerse I feel you may be the fastest resource in this regard !! Is there any figure that was either a general or commander who would have traveled or campaigned from the East of Faerun to the coast anywhere between 900-1200 DR? I’m looking for a good historical figure, ha!
@TheEdVerse
Hmmm. The best-known at the time example would be the mercenary “captain” (she commanded her own in-demand mercenary force) Ilhaera Maraztrel of Talathat (in Murghôm). She’s why “Ilhaerans” [pronounced “Ill-HAIR-ans”] are regarded as great mercenaries to this day. She was a human female (long black hair, flashing green eyes, nutbrown skin, fierce temper but iron resolve and self-control, and an uncannily-accurate horse archer with rippling-muscled shoulders as a result of that, so her shafts went astonishing distances with piercing force). Relocated to Madan and then Phannaskul, but her hirings often dragged her west, and she eventually dwelt in Zazesspur, where she ended her days as a local “lady” of wealth and influence who refused to marry but took multiple lovers, and died in her eighth decade fighting raiding peryton (perishing “happily” according to witnesses).
And the best places to shoot me Realmslore queries like this are my Patreon (ed greenwood), or the q4ed channel on the Greenwood’s Grotto Discord, which is a great community of Realms fans where much lore can be found. |
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