| 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 - 02 Feb 2026 : 14:06:06
On Fist of Gond
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017074187676848449 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017389544618733838 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017445463343944046
Jan 30, 2026
@TheEdVerse
Another Realmslore Answer! DM Mark Moonfang @Mark_Moonfang
Dear Mr. Greenwood.
What is a Fist of Gond (Doohicky)?
I'm about to drop my players into the High House of Wonders, so I want to let them see all kinds of wonders that the ones pushing the limits of technology in Faerun are creating. And I learned about this little item.
But I can't find out what it is!
If you don't know, let me know of some other ideas, features, or other aspects I should toss into the High House for them to gawk at.
Answer:
A Fist of Gond is a fighting drone, short range and operable only for a few rounds before it runs out of propulsive power and falls to earth (usually suffering minor damage). Consider it a whirligig that spits out darts. Fists are so-called because the early ones were about the size of a large adult human’s fist; some newer ones are almost the size of a human head.
They are useful mainly as distractions and to get in the way of ranged weapons directed at the person who unleashes a Fist.
There’s an entry for them on the FR Wiki, complete with illustration (from the computer game in which they first appeared).
Other High House items:
Spring traps, which are like real-world mousetraps except when they trip, they fire out long flat-band springy steel alloy “claws,” and can envelop cats, dogs, and smaller creatures, and hamper the movement of humans and smaller bipeds that they manage to close around a foot of.
Blast Doors: doors with patterns of buttons to press, levers to pull, and ring-handles: get the pattern wrong, and the door emits a one-shot explosive blast (3d4 hp damage to anyone touching it or within 5 feet, plus hurls any harmed target 5 feet backwards from the door).
Pressure Plates underfoot that make lighting “come on” ahead (actually, they cause ceiling panels to slide back, revealing the ongoing, steady radiance of glowing globes affixed above those panels).
Pressure Plates underfoot that ring gongs to signal an intruder is approaching. Pressure Plates that cause sliding double doors to part and roll back into wall-recesses, clearing the way onward.
Closets in which each of the four walls is a door, and the clothes stored within hang from rods suspended from the ceiling on chains; opening the front and back doors is a matter of obvious ring-pull handles (you pull to open, but turn the ring to unlatch before that, like expensive doors all over Toril), but the side doors seem to be solid walls, until you push on the correct end of the clothes rod to unlatch a particular side-wall.
And so on…the mechanical and clockwork features of the High House of Wonders are nigh-endless.
@XynRaven
Speaking of Gond, when he returned to godhood after the Godswar, did he enforce a version of Mystra's Ban on smokepowder and weapons that utilize it?
He asked, dearly hoping for a resounding yes, because he's too fond of swords and bows amplified by magic.
@TheEdVerse
Saer Raven, behold!
One "Resounding Yes," bright and shiny and thine very own.
@Mark_Moonfang
I was under the impression that Gond was actively trying to popularize the usage. I know he and his temples fiercely guard the production method.
@TheEdVerse
He's trying to popularize the usage by making it "forbidden fruit." The lure of the blasphemous.
Gond is one of the few deities to try various means of marketing deliberately, as opposed to doing it due to derangement (like Shar). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 02 Feb 2026 : 14:02:39
On Hollow Mountain/Mount GrimmerFang
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017051748414701973
Jan 30, 2026
@TheEdVerse
Another Realmslore Answer:
Robert Baber @PeeperPoppins
Mr Greenwood, I wanted to ask about the Hollow Mountain, also known as Mount GrimmerFang has always fascinated me, what was the life of this kingdom like before it was abandoned? And are there any dwarves who still seek to find it again?
Answer:
Both Ologh and Grimmerfang were tyrants, smart but ruthless orcs who ruled through fear and oppression, and life inside the mountain during both of their reigns was very hierarchical and harshly-policed, with frequent patrols, female orcs coerced into being spies on their neighbours, and orc children bribed or tortured into being spies and informants on the females. Nasty, but efficiently run with an eye to keeping the community strong: the weak, the sick, and the malcontents were sacrificed as food to guardian monsters penned up outside (around the mountain), and the rest of the orc populace was equipped with ever-better weapons, trained in their use, drilled for battle-discipline, and both kings paid attention to supply chains and food caches and the like.
Under Tuir “Stonebeard,” the dwarf kingdom of Roldilar flourished (albeit for only four decades) on the surface and underground beneath the dwarf-held surface lands), and was a place of wise justice, fairness, cleanliness, sharing, and as a result, real dwarven prosperity. Tuir encouraged dwarves to weave textiles and blow glass and make wooden furniture and other craft-work beyond the usual smithywork (forging and casting), so his citizens had richer lives and more coin and a wider world-view than many dwarves. Roldilar is a “lost high point” to many dwarves, though some conservatives grimly begrudge its fall as proof that opening up to the wider world is “weakness that works not.” |
| questing gm |
Posted - 02 Feb 2026 : 13:57:46
On patron god of humans
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017017193255387442
Jan 30, 2026
@Archduke_bones
Hi Ed, is there a patron god of humans? I know the elves, dwarves, and halflings at least have patron/creator deities, but is there a god who created humans?
@TheEdVerse
The clergy of Chauntea will tell you She did, that humans rose like a crop from her tilled earth, but other clergies scoff at the claim, and Chauntea Herself isn't saying.
Elminster says Shar and Selûne are co-mothers (father? unknown). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 02 Feb 2026 : 13:52:11
On belief of blood moons for Selune/Shar
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017014520594543062
Jan 30, 2026
@OCassioJunior
Is there something special or a belief in a Blood moon when we think about Selune/Shar?
Selune Prayers would look at a Blood Moon and be happy, afraid, think Selune is angry or wouldnt be relevant at all
@TheEdVerse
Across Toril, most folk know that a blood moon (a deep red moon in the sky, due to an eclipse) means that Shar is active (her devout followers and clergy will be enacting her schemes to change things in the world).
There is an unfounded folk belief that during blood moons, lycanthropes can lose control or “go wild” (give in to the savage sides of their natures, and kill and maim in short but violent sprees).
Faithful of Selûne know that a blood moon is auspicious for seeking/enacting retribution, and for lycanthropes to mate if they want offspring to be bigger, stronger lycanthropes—or refrain from mating if they don’t want offspring to have lycanthropy.
Blue moons (the presence of airborne particles due to large wildfires or volcanic activity causing the moon in the sky to appear blue) signal an auspicious time for beginnings for both the faith of Selûne and the faith of Shar, so it’s a good time to meet and plan, or meet and make agreements/written pacts and contracts, or to mate with the hopes of having offspring. To faithful of Selûne, a blue moon means good luck (“the Lady Smiles upon us”).
To clergy of Selûne, a blue moon means the goddess is especially attentive: she will be eager to hear and answer prayers, both in the form of guidance: signs, portents, and direct speech in dream-visions or waking visions, and in the form of extra accuracy (to hit rolls), duration, or damage/efficacy of spells (an extra die on damage rolls). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 02 Feb 2026 : 13:46:50
On rituals the followers of Sune perform
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017010478380138713
Jan 30, 2026
@TheEdVerse
Lore query answer time #3:
Rachel Winship @Purpleowl8
@TheEdVerse What kind of regular/special rituals do the followers of Sune perform? Are there rituals for different aspects of domain of Love and Beauty?
Answer:
A BIG topic, so let me do a swift overview.
There are special rituals for cleansing after a worshipper has become really dirty or stinky, or is recovering from illness or a wound (especially if there have been infections). There are also special rituals for weddings, wedding nights, and “anticipated moments of seduction or intimacy.”
There’s also a special prayer for “taming and melding,” used when trying to deal with unfamiliar garments or hairdos or trying to make clashing hues of best-or-only-available garments work together or trying to reconcile clashing art by arrangement and lighting in the interior of a room, and another special prayer for settling one’s emotions/FEELING beautiful, so one can carry oneself with poise, grace, and confidence.
And finally, there’s a special ritual (two prayers and a process between that links them) to help “cure” and mask skin blemishes, from temporary rashes to dandruff and flaking to acne to skin tags and vitiligo and hyperpigmentation (age spots/liver spots/sun spots).
Some of the most accomplished clerics of Sune know prayers that can reshape pigmentation variations, so an unsightly blotch can be remade into a row or parabola of different-sized circles to accentuate a breast or brow-line or curve of a hip or belly.
The cleansing rituals all consist of a prayer, an application of something physical that itself has had a separate prayer said over it (by someone in contact with the something), and a brief “dance” (more a series of graceful movements and poses than anything acrobatic or in time with music) as yet another prayer is said.
The cleansing (of dirt and grime) ritual is Alavneire’s Touch, and the purgative (of infections, poisonings, and viruses or other communicable germs) is Reszellra’s Caress.
For both of them, the preferred application involves an unclad bath in water into which have been stirred rose petals that a specific prayer has been said over, unspoiled milk from any mammal, seven drops of holy water consecrated to Sune, and a clear, unflawed rock crystal or gemstone (of any sort). All of these are “consumed” by the magic of the ritual except the water.
The feeling good prayers are shrivings, and the two most popular of these shrivings are Firehair’s Hand (a lesser everyday “let’s go out and face the world” shriving) and Kiss Of The Lady (a greater or powerful shriving, which can be augmented and elevated with the assistance of clergy and the making of offerings).
These specials are added to “the regular round” of daily and nightly observances, which are collectively known as “The Lady’s Grace.”
The Grace consists of a whispered or silent personal prayer to Sune upon awakening, a second prayer of renewed dedication to her service that is performed only by her clergy (and novices wishing to join her clergy), a morning cleansing (bath) that is entered with a prayer, then hair care and cosmetic applications, each with a prayer of their own, followed by a morning meal that ends with a benediction.
After that, a faithful of Sune enjoys their day without need for further reverence to the goddess (beyond personal prayers for aid, or thanks, as they feel moved to give) until the evening meal, which begins with a prayer hoping Sune is also fed and sustained.
Prayers are then said upon removing any cosmetics, any hair care for retiring, and at the removal of garments for bed. If the faithful is not sleeping alone, a call to Sune prayer (with an offering of a kiss with either a tear or some spittle from the tip of the tongue onto the praying individual’s palm) is added, that the goddess smile upon everyone sleeping together and bless them with beauty (and freedom from snoring, farting, talking during sleep, and nightmares).
To this daily round is added the Caress, a special prayer of thanks uttered whenever a faithful worshipper is smitten with beauty (that is, when they see something beautiful, be it a sunset or the arc of a flying bird or a view—but especially when they see a beautiful body feature or movement on the part of a sentient creature).
Lay worshippers daily follow The Lady’s Grace, but clergy of Sune amplify every Caress they utter with a line or two of renewed devotion to the goddess.
It is important to note that both lay worshippers and clergy are taught by senior clergy to eschew vanity; no mortal is to take pride in their appearance. They should strive for an appearance of which they can be proud—but then refrain from preening or taking that pride. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 02 Feb 2026 : 13:42:33
On a teaser from Souls for the Taking
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2016637425531969748
Jan 29, 2026
@TheEdVerse
A teaser from the new Realms book SOULS FOR THE TAKING:
“Well, then! Well met, Lord—Tacer, was it? Your very good health, and may the gods smile up-ah-aha-hurk-gulup-gahh, what is this swill?”
“’Tis called elverquisst, m’lord. Much beloved by some, I assure you!
So, Lord Tacer, have you seen any wondrous sights in your tour thus far, hmm?”
Lady Delchalice’s deep, throaty purr made her polite words seem almost indecent, but she could have made no sound at all, as far as Lord Tacer was concerned. His gaze had plunged right where her gown was designed to make it plummet, and was now lost down her cleavage somewhere south of her navel. Lanterns and ropes might just possibly be necessary to rescue him...
“RORSTRAND, you old battleaxe! What do you MEAN by looking this hale?
Third wife agrees with you, hah? Well, you know what they say: third time’s the charm, ahahahaha!” |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 01 Feb 2026 : 19:19:58
quote:
Originally posted by TBeholder
quote:
Originally posted by questing gm
On dualism in AD&D 2nd edition
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1953887003264921811
Aug 9, 2025
@AstralMangudai
Hey @TheEdVerse how does dualism work in aD&D 2e mechanics? We know elves are barred from most of specialist wizard classes. Is dualism a kit or W/W multiclass or a special class like Alunakkar, Dijakkar, Encikkar, Nelluonkkar? Would they need requirements of both base classes?
@TheEdVerse
As a never-TSR-staffer, I can't give you any "official" rules answers, but I did design a lot of 2e via Realms products, and I handle it thus: most players ran generalist all-in wizards.
Anyone can dual class, but yes, must meet requirements of both base classes. #realmslore
Dual classes
So, any bets?
- The elven dualist was a curious experiment, but did not go anywhere and was quite forgettable.
- Alas, "memoria fractalia est".
- These answers are typed and sometimes "helpfully" given by a press-secretary who knows FR as deep as the blurbs and "cannot into" search engines (seriously though, who? If His Edness uses a press secretary on a phpBB board, obviously he is not going to personally babysit Twitter and Discord).
Might be AI assisted?
Clearly appears the answer does not correctly match the question.
Only other thought I have is that Steven might have designed the dualist not Ed, so Ed might have misunderstood the question.
They appear in Cormanthyr Empire of The Elves |
| questing gm |
Posted - 28 Jan 2026 : 16:22:51
On temple charging for healing, birth and raising
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2016343349792297156
Jan 28, 2026
@XynRaven
Do temples tend to charge for birth services, or for healing in general?
And if an adventuring party came with a fallen comrade but didn't have the coin to compensate for the revival, is the body kept safe by the temple until then, or do they allow them to be indebted?
@TheEdVerse
Temples always charge for healing, in the form of “offerings we expect you to make.”
The same for births, but it’s a very nominal amount/value.
Raising from the dead is different, and the “price” varies with the nature of the dead: consecrated to the deity (clergy, paladins, on a mission for the temple or the priesthood) gets the lowest/best “price” (expected offering); a faithful worshipper of the deity (participates in rituals, gives offerings) gets the next lowest; and so on.
Adventurers are a special case: yes, wealthy adventurers can pay well (give big offerings) and “settle things clear and proper” for a fallen comrade, but if they can’t or won’t pay to go to the head of the line, they can instead perform a service for the temple, typically something 4) adventuring-related and dangerous (and temples never run out of a long list of desired services that need performing). The head of the temple will negotiate with them in a private audience about this. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 27 Jan 2026 : 17:41:07
On documented Bugbear hero in the Forgotten Realms
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2016026556070609207
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2016341539371266067
Jan 27, 2026
@Oreomage
@TheEdVerse Was there ever a documented Bugbear hero in the forgotten realms? A bugbear that would be remembered fondly by some people?
@TheEdVerse
Yes. The bugbear war-leader Sarrlagh, who hunted throughout the Nether Mountains, Tauvin Mountains, and Ice Mountains of the Sword Coast North is remembered with respect and gratitude by the dwarves of Citadel Adbar because in 810 DR he fought with his (in comparison) tiny war-band against an orc horde sweeping down out of the westernmost Ice Mountains, and broke its strength and turned it aside (so that the remnants marauded through The Cold Vale but were destroyed by two angry dragons they’d awakened and and slaughtered the “pet meat herds” of).
Sarrlagh regarded the bounty of the land as a farmer does: take as little as is needful, move your reaping around, leave certain populations alone to breed and renew their numbers, cause no fires and few avalanches, and in general “take care of” the land.
He thought the orcs should learn to breed in accordance with the available food, and not boil forth out of mountain caverns as world-damaging hordes every decade and a bit—and when this particular horde, led by Graulgin Longtusk of the Longtusk orc tribe, came rampaging through what Sarrlagh considered “his” hunting grounds, he made a stand against them—and decided to do so right in front of Citadel Adbar, to turn them back from its walls.
The dwarves have never forgotten that. Sarrlagh’s descendants are still taught by their elders to “Leave Adbar be.”
@XynRaven
Can such wise behavior be found in an orc - for instance, Obould Many-Arrows?
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes.
The stereotype of orcs as brutes is just that: a stereotype.
However, solid wisdom for orc leaders lies in seeing more of the world than the region you were reared in, and seeing enough of other races, OUTSIDE of battle. That's unfortunately rare.
- Edited on 28/1/2026 to add new replies |
| TomCosta |
Posted - 27 Jan 2026 : 17:22:05
I've thought of Cador as an aspect of/mask for Diinkarazan.
quote:
Originally posted by questing gm
On the worship of Cador
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2013690685531046207
Jan 21, 2026
@Justins4wd
Hey Ed! I’m planing on playing a dwarven vengeance paladin and I found a dwarf god of vengeance in dungeon magazine #2 page 43 named cador. I’d like to know if he’s worshiped in the realms (DM says I can use him if he is!) and how he would be worshiped.
I imagine most of it would be dwarves swearing generations long blood feuds in his name.
@TheEdVerse
He is indeed. Not with big temples or lots of clergy, but with shrines, paladins, a few traveling priests, and angry dwarves avenging in Cador’s name, e.g.: “Let the shed blood and ended life of dear Grawthorr guide my axe! Cador be with me! Cador help me strike true!” (preceding is muttered prayer) When the avenging blow is struck: “GRATHORR, BE AVENGED!”
|
| questing gm |
Posted - 27 Jan 2026 : 15:59:57
On public libraries in Toril
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2015551640175067522
Jan 26, 2026
@Purpleowl8
@TheEdVerse Are there public libraries around Toril? If so, are they public or privately funded, and/or regularly visited by Knowledge-domain deities!
@TheEdVerse
A belated lore reply to Rachel Winship @Purpleowl8
"Are there public libraries around Toril? If so, are they public or privately funded, and/or regularly visited by Knowledge-domain deities!"
Answer:
Most libraries in the Realms are private (i.e. the jealously guarded tomes of sages and noble hobbyists and others, some of whom derive livings in part by looking up information and imparting it, in return for fees) and fairly small (and specialized in scope). Shrines have no libraries beyond written copies of daily prayers, but almost all temples have libraries that anyone can consult, always in exchange for “offerings to the gods” (so, fees by another name) that may vary: the fee is nothing for visiting clergy of the deity, or in some cases of allied gods (such as Azuth and Mystra, or the Triad), low for a local, well-known faithful worshipper or member of the temple congregation, higher for an unknown supplicant who professes to venerate the deity, and higher still for someone the library-keeping clergy think has no strong ties to the deity, such as a dwarf asking for access to a library dedicated to the Seldarine. These sort of libraries have various rules about access, which usually involve a library staff member as chaperone: you can’t peruse tomes alone in private, but only when watched and supervised, but can rise to the level of “you can’t touch, we will turn the pages and guard the tome or even just read it ourselves, aloud to you, through a screen or over a barrier.” Guilds anywhere tend to have libraries, and clans or noble families have small “records” holdings. The High Heralds (and all local heralds) maintain similar genealogy and heraldry “registries.” Access fees usually apply to non-guild members, and attentive guarding always applies.
Large cities on trade routes tend to have some civic libraries (that you can consult in the aforementioned “hands off” methods, sometimes with fees involved), and they also tend to have “public” libraries—meaning, libraries that anyone can belong to, as long as they pay annual, or per visit, fees. Some of these, such as the older ones in Waterdeep, Athkatla, and Zazesspur, are akin to clubs: they are quiet mansions full of labyrinths of rooms with lamps, big wingback chairs, sidetables, and dozing readers.
Actually borrowing books from a library is very rare in Toril unless you’re the local ruler, or head of a wizard’s guild, or hold a similar position—because books lent out just don’t tend to come back. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jan 2026 : 08:03:08
On the worship of Cador
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2013690685531046207
Jan 21, 2026
@Justins4wd
Hey Ed! I’m planing on playing a dwarven vengeance paladin and I found a dwarf god of vengeance in dungeon magazine #2 page 43 named cador. I’d like to know if he’s worshiped in the realms (DM says I can use him if he is!) and how he would be worshiped.
I imagine most of it would be dwarves swearing generations long blood feuds in his name.
@TheEdVerse
He is indeed. Not with big temples or lots of clergy, but with shrines, paladins, a few traveling priests, and angry dwarves avenging in Cador’s name, e.g.: “Let the shed blood and ended life of dear Grawthorr guide my axe! Cador be with me! Cador help me strike true!” (preceding is muttered prayer) When the avenging blow is struck: “GRATHORR, BE AVENGED!” |
| questing gm |
Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:33:36
On c-sections in the Forgotten Realms
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2012784346797576309
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2013683556745089257 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2014067251054297555
Jan 18, 2026
@marshmaru35
@TheEdVerse Hi Ed, do c-sections exist in the Forgotten Realms? Like if a mother is having a life-threatening birth, or having to push out a really big baby? And what's the survival rate for both mother and child?
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Clergy and midwives usually assist at births, as well as mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. Their familiarity with "sword-births" (as they're called on Toril) varies widely, as does their comfort level attempting them. However, having priests on hand who can use spells to bloodquench and heal makes for far less hesitation and trepidation. The Realms does understand cleanliness and why it's needed. The survival rate varies with conditions (hard winter? out in the wilds? in wartime?) and the health of the mother at and during pregnancy, but there's likely about a 35% mortality rate for mothers and 15% for newborns without access to timely priestly healing, down to about 7% and 4% with healing right away.
Aftercare matters a lot, too, in the first 3 weeks, especially.
@Mark_Moonfang
That healing has to be hard to come by in rural areas. Magic is a rare commodity already.
@TheEdVerse
Indeed. It's why some pregnant folk journey to temples, to try to give birth there.
@Sparky_6800
I had to see a specialist for a hand injury, had a month long wait time. That made me realize that healing magic would be akin to seeing a specialists, only so many, only so much time to give. So conventional "healers" would have to fill the gaps with practical medicine & cures.
@TheEdVerse
Exactly! Dressing wounds, herbs to cleanse and kill pain, splints and bed rest and special diets...most folk get far more of these than they ever see spells.
- Edited on 23/1/2026 to add new tweets |
| questing gm |
Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:26:37
On Velaharoon's recent activity
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011930393524478302
Jan 16, 2026
@Fablemaster
Speaking of which, what has Velaharoon been up to?
@TheEdVerse
Vaeza Velaharoon, the notorious festhall madam and pleasure-lady-for-hire of Saerloon, is back in business after her fourteenth hired adventuring band brought her an actual potion of longevity that worked, and a mage she hired (going only by the pseudonym Veiled One) worked a long and painful ritual involving potions of vitality. A younger, more energetic, and far less wrinkled Vaeza is helming Vaeza’s Bower once more, and is the talk of that city these last few months for her—
Oh, wait. Did you mean Velsharoon (sometimes known as Mellifleur), the Archmage of Necromancy, patron of liches?
Ah. Well, in that case…
Velsharoon was restored to divine life by Ao after the Second Sundering, but returned to the Realms much changed by his humbling at the hands of The Simbul.
His arrogance, selfishness, and vanity are almost entirely gone, and his flirtations with Shar are fewer and tempered with fear: he’s now tasted loss, despair, and annihilation, and is far less fascinated by them. His fickleness is gone, too; he now clings to far more loyal service to Azuth and to Mystra, ignores Talos and Sehanine Moonbow, regards his former enmity with Jergal as folly, and despises Myrkul but reserves his disgust and energetic hatred for Szass Tam, whose “misuse” of undead “makes all the rest of we liches look like dangerous, reckless fools.” (He works to warn and otherwise protect some of the rebel Red Wizards inside and outside Thay, to further thwart Szass Tam’s schemes and ambitions.)
Velsharoon retains his clever wits and creativity (devising new undead creatures, processes for bestowing and renewing undeath, and self-renewal among liches), and still acts as a whispering dream-guide for would-be liches. Much of his time is spent in magical experimentations into various aspects of undeath.
He was genuinely touched when Mystra kissed him, imparting a wisp of silver fire into him that both empowered him and made known to him the Simbul’s sorrow at what she’d done to him (for the fire had been hers, ere her destruction). It shattered his old hatreds and world-view.
In short, Velsharoon is changed. He still exults in undeath in all its variety, and extending it into new forms and having new abilities—but is no longer a traitor to every deity he “serves,” nor arrogant in the slightest. He once muttered to Azuth: “I wasn’t just such a fool. I was an insane fool, worthy of being utterly destroyed. I shall strive to do better henceforth.” (Whereupon Azuth replied: “That striving is all any of us can ever manage.”) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:23:00
On Souls for the Taking livestream
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011888402699055420
Jan 16, 2026
@visionarypnd
Livestream tonight!
Join @TheEdVerse (creator of the #ForgottenRealms) and @RhysYorke tonight at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT as we talk about and answer questions about our new book, Souls for the Taking!
https://youtube.com/live/K3aCklYAcCc
@TheEdVerse
Don't miss this! The start of something big... |
| questing gm |
Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:19:38
On Souls for the Taking
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011886102098166173 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2012784973128909192
Jan 16, 2026
@visionarypnd
Souls for the Taking by @TheEdVerse @RhysYorke explores "what's next" in the #ForgottenRealms with a brand new adventure and all the details behind the scenes, available now in PDF and print-on-demand from @dms_guild!
Go to https://bit.ly/soulsforthetaking to get your copy today!
@TheEdVerse
It's out! The creator of the Forgotten Realms joins forces with a veteran taleteller to spin a new yarn in the Realms–and provide new lore about what's in the story!
New heroes! New pratfalls! Old dastardly villains!
This one has them all!
@groudon466
Does this have a Larloch statblock, by chance?
@TheEdVerse
Not exactly. When you read it, you'll see why. It does have lore on a certain related being who does feature in the book. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:12:53
On Mystra's power with Chosens
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011288548918640903 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011889300963803174 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011889940007960765 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2012592046301700126 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017005183130075149 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2017006260067987791
Jan 14, 2026
@XynRaven
Concerning Mystra, it's said that half her power lies in her Chosen and Azuth, which kept her from being the most powerful deity in all of Realmspace.
Does that mean the more Chosen she has, the less power she commands on her own, or do her Chosen bolster her power somehow?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, the more Chosen Mystra has, the less power she can wield directly.
However, the more Chosen she has scattered around Realmspace, the more stable the Weave (which is her!) is, because they help to anchor it, preventing severe ripples.
@jehackmaster
I would imagine this is to avoid another Netheril/Karsus debacle?
@TheEdVerse
Indeed!
It's why Mystra is slightly less powerful in 4e and 5e than she was earlier: her power is more dispersed.
@reachcole1999
Is there any information out there regarding just how much power the gods are able to wield? For example, what a god might be capable of if someone invaded their realm or how much influence they can exert? Could a party of level 20 characters actually do anything to a god?
@TheEdVerse
Lore query answer time!
From January 15th of this year: reachcole @reachcole1999
Is there any information out there regarding just how much power the gods are able to wield? For example, what a god might be capable of if someone invaded their realm or how much influence they can exert? Could a party of level 20 characters actually do anything to a god?
Answer:
It depends entirely on the situation: the nature of the deity, where they are encountered, and what else they are doing at the time. If a god is in their home realm (their “lair,” in game terms) they are capable of almost unlimited legendary actions. Most deities have at least two “layers” of keepouts: if unwanted entities intrude, at a particular choke point (a descending stairway or passage within solid rock, for example) they are simply mass teleported to a similar area they have already traversed, farther away from the deity’s lair. In other words, they are “kept out” in an endless loop. They won’t be able to get closer unless the deity wants them to.
Moreover, within their home realm, most deities can themselves teleport (without error) as often as they want to—and so, needn’t stick around to face damage from anyone hostile.
This is the simplest brute force means deities have of avoiding contact they don't want to have. Most gods have other brute-force-simple things they can do, such as a personal displacement effect (so, like a displacer beast, they’re not precisely where they appear to be), endless reverse gravity effects they can cast at will, multiple multiple flame strikes (once per round), and so on.
@Doomprophet115
Who are the chosen of Mystra in Kara Tur and Zakhara?
@TheEdVerse
There are NDAs around this, but I can say this much: the Chosen of Mystra already known to you travel all over Realmspace, all the time, on Mystra's business.
@XynRaven
Is the position of Chosen a permanent one, or can one theoretically be demoted back to a normal follower or entirely cast out should the deity be sufficiently displeased?
@TheEdVerse
Lore query answer time #2:
From January 16th of this year:
Xyn Raven @XynRaven
Is the position of Chosen a permanent one, or can one theoretically be demoted back to a normal follower or entirely cast out should the deity be sufficiently displeased?
Answer:
A ‘true’ Chosen (an empowered mortal, rather than one merely anointed with the title of Chosen and imbued with the ability to cast a handful of spells) possesses some of the divine essence (“divine spark”) of the deity. The deity can destroy them at will, demote them at will by shunning them and stripping them of some abilities, and publicly cast them out—but if they destroy them, they lose that divine essence that was imparted to them; it’s scattered (no one else can readily snare it), drifts into the Weave and is absorbed, and is lost to the deity, usually forever. So the deity diminishes themselves by destroying a Chosen. Yet if sufficiently enraged or desperate, they can work that destruction with ease.
@Justins4wd
Since we’re talking about the gods may I ask a question? In the recent unearthed arcana there’s a vestige patron warlock. Any suggestions for a patron in faerun? I can think of karsus murdane and valigan thirdborn. Also would mystril and the previous mystra have vestiges?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, they would, but those vestiges would no longer act as patrons; they're now more of "manifestation points for Mystra the active goddess." |
| questing gm |
Posted - 18 Jan 2026 : 14:02:40
On Ed's thoughts on Zakhara
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2010723516258423264 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2011287808498155524
Jan 14, 2026
@TheEdVerse
And of course...
(Free for all to see)
a new Little Lore...from me!
https://t.co/QG3s75Vvf2
@Eater32Snake
Ed, what do you think of the Zakhara setting, right next to Faerûn?
@TheEdVerse
Heh. I worked on it, as a freelance designer. (Jeff Grubb conflabbed with me re. using some of my spells from FR 16 Anauroch.) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 Jan 2026 : 07:33:48
On adventurers carrying gold without Bags of Holding
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2008236515969601554 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2009795596182532495 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2010935152285765933
Jan 6, 2026
@TheEdVerse
LOST LORE OF THE REALMS #35 https://t.co/6J5x19vnVT
@XynRaven
How do adventurers carry gold, assuming Bags Of Holding and other magical bags aren't an option?
I can hardly imagine them carrying tens of thousands of coins in mere pouches.
Magical coin purses seem probable, but I found no mention.
@TheEdVerse
Adventurers usually bury or otherwise hide large amounts of gold, carrying only “spending money.” Merchants, authorities, and others who need to exchange large amounts use either trade bars or gems in place of gold coins.
@StevenGarstone
What are the most common gems used in this way & who operates/controls the mines that the gems are sourced from?
Bonus question. Is there any Young Gold Dragons near these mines?
@TheEdVerse
I’ve answered this many, many times before, but no harm in doing so again. The gems used for currency are all common semi-precious stones, of the most durable (won’t easily crack or chip in normal handling) sorts.
Bloodstones, for example (and zircons and other stones in the 50 gp-value range; see the tables in the DMG). They are often encased in little thumb-sized wooden boxes, or longer “finger” boxes (like a set of real-world polyhedral gaming dice, stored in a row in a container), to protect them while being carried. They are mined all over the Realms, but are common enough (thanks to centuries of dwarf and gnome delving) that no miners have to go anywhere near real dangers like dragons.
On the other hand, young gold dragons, like young dragons of any sort, have to find their own territories, so they spread out across the Realms and explore—and could well end up near such a mine.
- Edited on 18/1/2026 to add new tweets |
| questing gm |
Posted - 12 Jan 2026 : 07:27:52
On a sorcerer becoming a Magister
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2009795352791249011
Jan 10, 2026
@PeeperPoppins
Mr Greenwood question! Is it theoretically possible for a studious sorcerer who follows Mystra to become her Magister? The position is often changed and won via challenges or combat, but is it strictly reserved to wizards? Or could sorcerer take its position and spread magic!
@TheEdVerse
Any arcane spellcaster can become Magister. The title is almost always won by combat (defeating, usually killing, the incumbent and taking their place), but sometimes Azuth or Mystra will ask an individual to become Magister.
So in theory, a studious, non-combat individual (who, yes, is a sorcerer) could become Magister. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 07 Jan 2026 : 06:04:41
On known black dragon names
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2008237688668016770
Jan 6, 2026
@TheEdVerse
And of course, when a new Lost Lore shows up, a Little Lore is coming along right behind it! Behold:
Q: You recently posted “Known Black Dragon Names of the Realms” in a lore drop here. Are those meant to be the names of specific individual black dragons, or are they examples of names commonly used among black dragons in general?
A: They are all names of specific black dragons currently alive and flourishing in the Realms (circa 1500 DR).
They are also “popular” black dragon given names, but...among that sub-race, it’s the custom not to use a name a dragon is currently enjoying until it comes to the great-grandsons and daughters of the current “elder generation” of wyrms.
In other words, little confusion arises because few dragons alive at the same time will be bearing the same names (and when they do, nicknames like “The Flying Terror” will often be appended).
Sample Black Dragon Names:
Masculine: Aerammarglas, Glazalarlam, 5) Imrylgloth, Ralaglaud, Voarulglammandar
Feminine: Aerammarglarya or Aerammarglazya; Glazalarlorra; Imrylglamra; Ralaglaudra; and Voarulglammandra |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:50:13
On how a Matron or another powerful Lolthian drow legitimately visits a city on the surface
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2003665871148056871
Dec 24, 2025
@Michael75535436
@TheEdVerse if a Matron or another power/influential Lolthian drow was going to visit a Major city in the realms, on the surface, how could they legally/ legitimately do so (assuming the city would allow it given the right circumstances)?
@TheEdVerse
By far the easiest way of doing this is for the Lolthite drow to pose (or even legitimately arrange such a title and position) as the trade envoy of a distant surface realm or city-state, and make the visit “working” travel to negotiate and sign agreements about goods, taxes and tariffs, and limits of imports and exports for the surface realm or city-state.
They could of course quietly also represent their own and/or other Underdark communities for the same things during the same visit.
Such a ploy will allow them to bring bodyguards and unusual wares (or even magic items for their own defense or offense) as “samples.” |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:44:08
On other names of Silverymoon
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2003167989848506708
Dec 23, 2025
@seeminglyclever
A quick Q for @TheEdVerse: any other names that Silverymoon (the city) is called by? Poetic, informal, etc.? I really enjoyed “The Great Silver Hearth”, from My Slice of Silverymoon, and got emotional about what an amazing a city it is. Any others that the wiki hasn’t covered?
@TheEdVerse
Sure!
The Shining Towers, Silvertowers, Homehaven (an elven name for the city), and The Welcoming City. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:37:57
On new fiction (and sourcebook?)
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2003167331271492045 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2003660670404034618
Dec 23, 2025
@TheEdVerse
I've had so much fun spinning this tale with Rhys and Wayne and the gang! A new tale of the Realms begins!
Realms fans, don't miss out on this! quote:
@visionarypnd
SOULS FOR THE TAKING is coming soon to @dms_guild #DMsGuild! This 147 page #dungesonanddragons book is full of lore, NPCs, secrets, and a brand new story by @TheEdVerse (creator of the #ForgottenRealms) and @rhysayorke!
Download a sneak preview https://forms.gle/pttoZq9LxCfeBTj78 today!
@franknsimmons
Is this an adventure, or a sourcebook? Always excited for more Realms content!
@TheEdVerse
It's part fiction, and part Realmslore (of characters, places, and things featured in the fiction). Set in 1501 DR. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:31:04
On storing Cormyrean Mint Wine and Neverwinter black icewine
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2002792466475532647 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2003170138292650495
Dec 22, 2025
@LecterRed
@TheEdVerse Hello Mr. Greenwood, what kind of bottle does Cormyrean Mint Wine get stored in? if it gets stored in a bottle at all? i love your setting so much <3
@TheEdVerse
That depends on who buys it from the vintner. Most wine of this sort is consumed locally; it's poured into skins (sealed leather sacks) for travel, and decanted into stoppered decanters for home use.
Bottles are of course hand-blown in a glassworks, which can be located anywhere a forge can be set up (so Suzail, Immersea, Waymoot, and other locales where there's a demand, and the right sort of sand is handy). Sometimes shape and hue of bottles are used to identify contents; mint wine is not a "haughty" wine, and so will often be put into "handrounds" (think of the sort of bottle real-world Mateus wine is often sold in, only Realms versions of this bottle shape tend to have "shoulder grooves" so a user can grip them more securely with thumb and forefingers) rather than the tall, thin "spearhead" bottle shapes (think of real-world ice wine bottles for tall-thin-ness, but tapering to a point rather than having shoulders, and having flared bases so they don't tip over as easily) used for expensive, highly-regarded vintages.
@XynRaven
What about Neverwinter black icewine?
... What even is icewine? I can't imagine putting wine on ice is either easy or expensive, especially without magic.
@TheEdVerse
Heh. Icewine is made from frozen grapes; the water freezes into ice, so it concentrates the grape juice. Icewine/ice wine is expensive because relatively rare, because conditions have to be just right to yield the necessary grapes. It's a sweet dessert wine.
Neverwinter black icewine is sold in small handkegs (about the size of a cylindrical mid-sized watermelon) for distance transport, and in adult-human-male-forearm-sized, tall cylindrical bottles within Neverwinter. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:25:02
On Alorglauvenemaus and Elminster's animosity
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001890248339705863
Dec 19, 2025
@HeraldoftheSnek
@TheEdVerse Sorry bother you but I just learned about the dragon Alorglauvenemaus but I can't seem to find what turned him and El is enemies to the point where El would kill him and in Enraged they seem like they are on bad terms already
I hope this isn't too much of a bother, I just am really interested in him. Thank you for your time.
@TheEdVerse
Right, I've checked through the NDAs, and here we go...
The dragon Alorglauvenemaus long maintained a Zhentarim wizard alter ego, Hesperdan. Elminster mind-melded with him to show him what the Chosen of Mystra did, and why, so he’d be informed enough to temper both his own draconic ambitions and the overbold excesses of the Zhentarim, to prevent open and widespread war from flaring up on dozens of occasions (Hesperdan thwarted, distracted, convinced, or in some cases outright slew amibitious Zhentarim who would have sacrificed much of the Realms to rise within the ranks of the Zhentarim).
After centuries, their silent partnership, which extended to aiding each other in confrontations against foes, and even “swapping bodies” (altering their outward shapes to impersonate each other, not really exchanging bodies) to stand in for each other, ended when Alorglauvenemaus gave in to his own ambitions and took advantage of Fzoul’s hubris and “defeat” of Manshoon (not knowing Manshoon was playing a ruse of his own to step aside from the target-on-his-back leadership role) to try to grasp his own lordship within the Zhentarim; he was seeking a role that can best be described as “behind the scenes office manager, holding a lot of real daily power but almost no official authority.”
As Hesperdan, Alorglauvenemaus slew a lot of senior Zhents (especially priests of Bane) to carve out his chosen role, and that was fine with Elminster (who once described this to Ed of the Greenwood as “playing Bane like a fiddle,” as Alorglauvenemaus intended to substitute rule by fear for official authority, a style that delighted Bane the Lord of Tyranny, so Bane lifted no finger against him), but the dragon then went on to try to exterminate every loyal servant of Mystra and Azuth whom he thought might have any inkling that he was Hesperdan, and had worked with Elminster—and that was NOT acceptable to Elminster. That’s the “treachery” El refers to when ending Alorglauvenemaus with silver fire. (Mystra and Azuth were fine with El slaying Alorglauvenemaus due to the body count the dragon had already wrought, though they are normally reluctant to indulge in open slaughter because of the “tit for tat” feuds it can cause; in this case, Alorglauvenemaus was piling death upon death, beyond his original targets.)
Elminster still respected Alorglauvenemaus for the entire “being Hesperdan” thing and the work they’d done together. He was saddened that the dragon had given in to his hunger for power and control, rather than “rising above himself” farther (his Hesperdan persona was already a measure of rising above himself).
El wanted to go on liking the dragon. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:17:52
On Sarrukh falling and running from the Khaasta
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001886020871352598
Dec 19, 2025
@vengeful_jarl
@TheEdVerse something I have never grasped. How or why did the Sarrukh fall and run from the Khaasta? As I recall they didn't have any abilities. Just demonic allies? Even in defeat why does the Sarrukh fear the Khaasta?
@TheEdVerse
The Sarrukh fear the Khaasta because Sess'innek had a scheme to physically transform Sarrukh (the only Sarrukh not destined to die as sacrifices to him!) into servitor lizards (some into the lizard equivalent of hounds or war wolves, some into a “pack lizard”/wagon-pulling-beast role). The transformation made the mind of the transformed Sarrukh unable to resist mental commands from any Khaasta—so no Sarrukh wanted to be anywhere near a Khaasta, for any reason, for fear of being instantly mind-controlled. (There was so much fearful misinformation among Sarrukh about this, that they didn’t know the mind control only “worked” after they’d been transformed; a belief spread that Sess'innek was altering Khaasta to be able to pre-emptively control the minds of nearby Sarrukh.) Hence the “running and hiding.” |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:11:08
On dragons and dragonborn
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001697452315816368 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001698134888731036 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001703628588073221 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001704303304806749 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001706007895171408 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001707754193297554 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001708482261848529
Dec 19, 2025
@TheEdVerse
Just when you thought it was safe: another Lost Lore of the Realms!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/little-lore-4-146156269
@XynRaven
Speaking of dragons, two questions.
1- If a chromatic dragon egg were given to a metallic dragon to raise, would the chromatic dragon grow up with the same personality traits (even if struggling with bad impulses), or are chromatic dragons evil by nature, cursed as such forever?
And is the reverse the same?
@TheEdVerse
They are born with the personality traits of their blood heritage (chromatic type), but nurture often trumps nature, and when out on their own, dragons are intelligent and long-lived enough to make their own decisions, have time to change their world-views often.
@TheEdVerse
This holds true in both directions. And is one of the things that makes dragons so interesting as characters (not just antagonists) in the setting.
@XynRaven
To that end, how likely is it that a grown dragon would change alignment?
@TheEdVerse
"Likely" is an "it depends" answer for each dragon (in this case, depends foremost on how the dragon is treated by kin/and friends (if any), then by other dragons, then by other creatures, in their unfolding life as a dragon. It tends to be rare rather than common.
@XynRaven
2- Are dragonborn a race of live births or egg hatching? And what if they bred with half-dragons or dragons?
@TheEdVerse
MOST dragonborn births are live, but the baby emerges in a porous, rubbery caul (membrane), which is what the egg of dragons has morphed into for dragonborn (it can readily be broken from inside or outside). Dragonborn interbred offspring usually "favor" one parent or the other so much that the baby effectively IS a half-dragon or dragon (but with hidden traits/"wild talents" from their dragonborn side). Note that babies being dragons is VERY rare, and often involves a transformation from dragonborn form later in life. This can often come as a surprise to the partially-grown-up dragonborn baby, and may be triggered by traumatic events or direct personal threats. (E.g. dragonborn makes a battlefield last stand and is astonished to become a dragon while doing so.)
@XynRaven
Makes it hard to distinguish between half-dragons and dragonborn.
Which makes me wonder, what if half-dragons and dragonborn were to breed with humanoids, and how would the future descendants fare further down the line?
@TheEdVerse
Over time, species lines become more blurred, everything tending towards the individual and not groups. As I recall, somewhere in past TSR lore are some scribbled design thots on half-dragons, saurials, and (Krynn) dragonborn... |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Dec 2025 : 15:05:00
On antibiotics in the Realms
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1998132562322186536 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001701549152833755 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001884615125143588 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/2001883524312531226
Dec 9, 2025
@TheEdVerse
And to go with that Lost Lore, here's another Little Lore! Free for all to see!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/little-lore-3-145385101?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
@isatweetter
Ed, will antibiotics ever be a thing in the realms? Or the existence of magical healing will stunt medicine forever?
@TheEdVerse
They already are, but not under that name. Elves and dwarves understand well the effects of copper and silver on wound care/bacteria, elves & many woodland races know the effects of wild plants ("herbs") on infections, and so on.
Local terms, not organized lore.
@Gormogons
Rx What about magically resistant bacteria?
0.000001% magic resistance might require 5 cure diseases instead of one, for example....
@TheEdVerse
In the Realms, magically resistant bacteria are only going to come into being in a living organism that tarries (or is caught) inside a magically-strong area (e.g. within a mythal), or feels the effects of a powerful (7th level or higher) spell.
So they will exist, but be rare. A cure disease will always initially work on them 100% (that is, removing all effects/making the disease latent so it seems to have “ended,” but then will come back, far more mildly, later (how long, up to the DM; how severe, depends on all sorts of factors, including overall health of the afflicted…but as a DM, I would never rule on anything needing more than three cure diseases: the third casting should end a disease for good.
@XynRaven
Can a wizard, or other individual academically inclined towards alchemy, be reasonably expected to be capable of brewing potions or other items that could aid recovery, be they antiseptics, antidotes, or outright healing wounds, given the right ingredients and tools?
@TheEdVerse
Capable, yes. Whether a particular wizard can do it depends on what training they’ve received or books/scrolls/tutoring they have access to. Any mage who has studied alchemy at all can understand how to try for purity, and how to intensify or dilute a result but knowing techniques is just the beginning. Alchemy is a process of experimentation, refining, adjusting, and experimenting again to get closer and closer.
However, given the right ingredients and tools, someone used to precision, who has studied alchemy sufficiently, should be able to concoct, their first time out, a reasonably powerful antiseptic, and an antidote that can treat symptoms (such as seizures, swellings, impaired vision or other senses).
Better antiseptics and antidotes that work on root conditions can be produced through additional experimentation. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 01 Dec 2025 : 12:00:53
On purity of Waterdhavian currency
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1995272313722622220 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1997757560699449735 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1997766947623039262 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1998129192853238119 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1995531900526755949 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1998130573051904244 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1998130573051904244 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1998131161240060402
Dec 1, 2025
@RpgMatch
Hey @TheEdVerse, what’s the level of gold purity for Waterdhavian dragons? And the same question for shards and nibs…
@TheEdVerse
There have been times (under the warlords, in particular) when Waterdhavian coins were debased to as low as 60 percent purity, but from Piergeiron becoming Open Lord to “now” (1501 DR), all Waterdhavian coins are minted at over 90 percent pure (usually 95 percent).
@XynRaven
Do they use magic to refine those coins or is it pure technique?
@TheEdVerse
It's technique. Magic is expensive, time-consuming, and used far less than the general populace in the Realms thinks.
@RpgMatch
This is excellent. I’m going to crunch these numbers (and the attached size chart) to calculate revise proportions. Am I correct in assuming a somewhat standard ratio of raw copper:silver:gold exchange rates throughout the Realms?
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G7izrCIacAANlBx?format=jpg&name=large>
@TheEdVerse
Most popular "lawful" trading centers (Silverymoon, Baldur's Gate, Athkatla, Zazesspur, the Sembian coastal cities, etc.) have coins about 80% pure. Places like Scornubel and Westgate are 60% pure; everywhere else is in the range between.
@XynRaven
Is this a recent development, or is it safe to assume this was the case in the years before the Spellplague?
@TheEdVerse
This was the same in the latter half of the 1300s DR, before the Spellplague.
@AJPickett1
*Looks sideways at Ed and whispers* "Athkatla?"
@TheEdVerse
Shhh, I'm talking about the face they try to present to the world to attract trade and investment, not the truth. ;}
@DoodlePoodle_X
Mind if I piggyback on this question a little? Somewhat related, haha.
If a devil was to "conjure up" tangible, non-illusory coins out of nowhere for dramatic effect over a party of adventurers like in this scene, would those coins be:
1 - magically created, and therefore theoretically could be of greater purity (and potentially value) than traditionally minted ones
2 - regular ol' pre-existing coins summoned from a secret stash hoarded just for such occasions.
Option 2 is what I imagined when I wrote this scene... I wrote Alexander as a Cambion with sorcerer levels, certainly not all-powerful, but REALLY good with theatrics... and with a hefty Charisma stat. Did I get it right? #128517;
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G7l6u_GXUAAQR84?format=jpg&name=4096x4096>
@TheEdVerse
I would go with Option 2 IF the devil had no access to (their own personal, as that's what it would be) stash of coins. If they had a stash big enough to do things with, Option 1, because it increases their long-term influence wherever they're handing out the coins.
@XynRaven
Is creating gold out of (practically) nothing that easy for fiends?
If it were accessible to humanoids, I imagine the economy of the Realms would be as messy as the death toll in Westeros.
@TheEdVerse
The fiend is transforming (in shape) and transporting (from elsewhere) gold, NOT creating it, or transmuting it from another metal.
- Edited on 10/12/2025 to add new tweets |
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