| 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 - 28 Aug 2024 : 02:20:38
On Thundaerl Maurlatrimm and Avarae
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1827916946928472223 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1827916946928472223
Aug 26, 2024
@ItalianKarsus
@TheEdVerse hello! Couple questions.
1. Is Thundaerl Maurlatrimm (Swords of Eveningstar Chap. 9 epigraph) the archmage behind Thundaerl's Universal Taster?
2. Nasmaerae Felmorel (Temptation of Elminster, Chap. 3) is called Daughter of Avarae by Azuth. Is there anything on Avarae?
@TheEdVerse
1. No, the Taster was devised by his grandsire and namesake.
2. Yes, but I'll have to look at my files to make sure I can share without running afoul of a NDA.
@ItalianKarsus
Uh, I should probably ask... no relationship to Thundaerlyn Hall in Marsember, right?
@TheEdVerse
Right. No relation. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 28 Aug 2024 : 02:14:48
On Elmara having children
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1827721735132819513
Aug 25, 2024
@TechnicalNitwit
Hey @TheEdVerse, the question came up in conversation with my friends when I was informing them of the Elminster's time as Elmara. Did the Sage bear any children during this period?
@TheEdVerse
No, he did not.
When the head of the Books Department told me I had to write a novel in which El was in turn all 4 core character classes, and I topped him by saying he'd switch gender, too, he gave a thumbs up, then added, "NO explicit sex and NO pregnancies." |
| questing gm |
Posted - 28 Aug 2024 : 02:09:07
On Khelben and cats
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1827719562743398875
Aug 25, 2024
@AuntieHauntie
It's a long way to Shadowdale though, and time is of the essence for my cat. (And the alley cat I feed but she's got other feeders too...)
Might need to knock on Khelben's door and see if he can get in touch for me. Hopefully he won't want much for the trifle. Does he like cats?
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GV0Q-AIboAAX2l1?format=jpg&name=small>
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GV0Q-V6a8AAN4qU?format=jpg&name=small>
@TheEdVerse
Khelben loved cats, but didn't want anyone to know that. So he did lots of gruff scowling and disapproving glares before scritching them under the chin and offering them treats (proper people food, of course). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 24 Aug 2024 : 15:32:59
On how much gold is a bucket from the gem mine worth
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1826465256626860178
Aug 22, 2024
@PratzStrike
@TheEdVerse Hey GM, how much gold is my haul from the bucket I grabbed from the gem mine worth?
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVjDGlmWwAAnZdL?format=jpg&name=large>
@TheEdVerse
Depends on where you're trying to sell it (what semi-precious stones they see a lot of, how many dwarf appraisers reside there to sniff at your haul).
Properly polished and mounted, some can sell as "real jewelry" in rural villages, where : { they have less to spend. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 20 Aug 2024 : 04:08:30
On how common are paladins
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825547896034648491
Aug 19, 2024
@DawnRealm
@TheEdVerse Greetings from Finland! I would like to ask how common are true paladins of the gods in the Realms? It seems they appear quite rarely in the novels and I merely wished to ask. Wishing you a wonderful day and thank you for for all your amazing novels!
@TheEdVerse
They are rare, because few can be disciplined enough to follow the lifestyle, and when they do, they are targets (they do dangerous things and have baked-in enemies). You can find one paladin as a major character in the D&D comics scripted by @GrubbsTweet . |
| questing gm |
Posted - 19 Aug 2024 : 12:09:05
On magic for anyone (Giftless)
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825244417030054077
Aug 19, 2024
@ValetheHowl
@TheEdVerse Hi there Sage! Sorry to bother you again, but I was wondering if in addition to Table Magic, there were other magics that could be learned by anyone (even Giftless people) through study and hard work, without aid from deities or other otherworldly entities.
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Realmslore videos will be forthcoming on some of them, but there’s a roster of recorded ones to get through first. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 19 Aug 2024 : 12:03:04
On Moander as of 1494 DR
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825245723471814688
Aug 19, 2024
@Your_Best_Apyr
@TheEdVerse any updates on Moander as of 1494 DR?
My favorite slime mold elder god has been MIA for a while and I hope they’re doing okay
@TheEdVerse
Yes. I've covered Moander in a Realmslore video. Like all the other deities, he's more low profile these days (corrupting and working through mortals more than making personal avatar appearances), but back at work decaying the Realms.
|
| questing gm |
Posted - 19 Aug 2024 : 12:00:15
On female half-dragon breasts
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825240115008184403 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825248186614554861
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1825547100714856722
Aug 19, 2024
@TieflingMelissa
Hey @TheEdVerse! Me and my friend @LluisAbadias have been designing & illustrating Forgotten Realms Dragons for quite some time.
We have a burning question when it comes to Half-Dragon designs & aesthetics. Do female Half-Dragons in the Realms have breasts? #129300;
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GU9U0unWgAE3LSm?format=jpg&name=900x900>
@TheEdVerse
Sorry for my tardiness in replying; I’ve been offline with medical, family, and then COVID, but should be on the long road back now. Male and female half-dragons in the Realms all have nipples, but how much in the way of breasts they have beneath them depends on individual genetics and the species who are the other “half” of the half-dragon’s parentage.
For human, elves, halflings, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, and centaurs, the answer is yes: noticeable breasts. All of the half-dragons resulting from such unions will produce breast milk that speeds the growth in size and maturity (including, yes, permanent teeth coming in) of young suckling on them, so the breasts aren’t mere “decoration for artists to enhance portraits with.”
However, some half-dragons will be buxom, especially if they are fat or burly of build, and some will be sleek indeed (“flat” in human parlance). So a particular half-dragon character can look like almost anything.
@CyberChillStrem
Okay, speaking of Melissa what does Tiefling milk taste like?
@TheEdVerse
Like buttermilk with a hint of cinammon. My "home" Realms players ROLEPLAY. ;}
@rivertherabbit
i have a semi-related question - if two dragons reproduce, but in human forms - is the offspring human or a dragon or some genetic mix of the two?
@TheEdVerse
Results can vary, but the offs[ring is usually a dragon who can shapeshift into human form, if either of the parents can shift (as opposed to using a spell to take human form).
- Edited on 20/8/24 to add new tweet |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 Aug 2024 : 08:43:02
On creating half-dragons
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822759230459326766
Aug 12, 2024
@_Flameborne
Half-Dragons are a thing, created in the usual way most commonly, right? But that does raise the question of what would a dragon seek in a mortal mate, with their way of thinking being alien to most mortals.
Especially some of the less 'personable' types like Reds.
@TheEdVerse
It varies. Some are curious, many want a respite from loneliness (they want to "belong" while having the security of knowing how personally powerful they are among "soft" mortals), some want to leave offspring and watch them grow...and some want entertainment. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 Aug 2024 : 07:50:02
On Ao being on the level of the Lady of Pain
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822636111073607752
Aug 11, 2024
@TheEdVerse
U'meko Camyu#128286;#129718; @Moonflower_MG
@TheEdVerse In your opinion, is Ao on the level of the Lady of Pain?
Ao is much more powerful than the Lady, but answers more closely to yet more powerful entities than the Lady does. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 Aug 2024 : 07:44:44
On Sarathlue Serendragon unmasked in 1491
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822402681178087551
Aug 11, 2024
@DungeonsnDaleks
@TheEdVerse I'm running a session tomorrow using your list of the current Lords of Waterdeep. May I ask, how and why was Sarathlue Serendragon unmasked in 1491?
@TheEdVerse
The cutline for my novel DEATH MASKS is “Who Is Killing The Masked Lords Of Waterdeep?
More than one cabal wanted to put “their” people into Masked Lordships and so end up controlling Waterdeep. One tactic was to assassinate really stubborn/opposed Lords, and then unmask as many of the rest as you could identify, to scare them into resigning for fear they’d be targeted and slain in turn. Sarathlue was one such unmasked Lord, but she “didn’t scare,” and (as largely seen in the novel) the slayers got taken care of, before her turn to get taken down arrived. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 Aug 2024 : 07:34:13
On High Harper Tam Zawad
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822399619365519608 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822399976913138031
Aug 11, 2024
@TheAnonDM
Calling Saer @TheEdVerse for some #RealmsLore!!!
A DM would like to know:
According to Baldur’s Gate III, Jaheira has become the High Harper.
What happened to Tam Zawad? Is he okay?
cc: @erinmevans
@erinmevans
Iirc a High Harper isn’t like the TOP Harper, but ONE OF the top Harpers
That said, I don’t think my version of the Harpers is what’s in play here. Feels like 5e went back to the OG ways, so #129335;#127995;#8205;#9792;#65039;
@TheEdVerse
Agreed! A High Harper is a senior Harper, not a pontiff or president or THE big Harper.
@TheEdVerse
Moreover, in some places in the Realms, the local "High Harper" is a figurehead/target/spokesperson, running interference for the "real muscle" Harpers behind the scenes. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 13 Aug 2024 : 07:23:37
On Ed's own timeline
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822398039174283532 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822639014962241652 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822406152249811068 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822406155244617890 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822642917640491252 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1822398997278904467
Aug 11, 2024
@roguecaliber
From what I understand, Ed Greenwood’s campaign never advanced into the Time of Troubles. So does he have his own time-line or just doesn’t advance the years?
I know some DMs don’t care about the passing of years and just run. That’s fine, but I can’t run without a count!
@TheEdVerse
The PCs really "live in" the world: many friendships, businesses, etc. They're BUSY. So the in-world timeline + their levels advance at a snail's pace. The Knights are now average 9th level, we're in the early 1360s DR, and we vote on RSEs: they said no to the ToT.
@JoshKellemen
Is this just engagement bait?
There is a whole website and forum where Ed has been answering questions for decades. The original party were the knights of myth drannor. The 5e reset to Ed (he wrote last book ending 4e-5e transition) was meant to wave away everything pre ToT
@damianbreen1
I don't want to put words in Ed's mouth @TheEdVerse, the original group were the company of crazed venturers, the KoMD came latter. I know there have been lots of mini campaigns over the years as well (especially games at the library where Ed worked) with lots of other groups.
@TheEdVerse
That's right, the Crazed Venturers came first, and the Knights (originally the Swords of Eveningstar) followed, amid 20-plus other groups.
@roguecaliber
So do you toss in another event(s) or are things pretty quiet as stories are on a more personal level?
@TheEdVerse
Oh, no, there's a constant cavalcade of "current clack" news from around the world: border skirmishes between petty barons (Chessenta, the Border Kingdoms), trade disputes, and the Zhents and Red Wizards and others trying to topple and replace local rulers. The Realms is alive.
@roguecaliber
I'd love to be a fly on that wall and just see how you develop such!
@TheEdVerse
Here's how: just as in the real world, what are the current flash points (disputes over valuable resources like oil)? And, where haven't we heard from in a long while?
With those in mind, follow 25 important NPCs (Szass Tam, Manshoon, etc.). What are they up to?
@JohnMoreyAuthor
Which one of the supervillain immortal evil world-threatening NPC villains would be the most pleasant to have tea with?
Which one would be the easiest to talk out of a lethal encounter?
@TheEdVerse
Depends on you. ;}
However, if we include dead as well as the living, good candidates would be:
Tea: Syluné or Shaaan the Serpent Queen
and talk out:
Larloch or The Simbul
@TheEdVerse
Generate a local broadsheet (newspaper) headline about what they're doing, or a rumour about it. How might it get twisted/inflated if retold by a tavern drunk? Gather the 25 results, and there's your current clack. Wars first.
@roguecaliber
And then the 25 are dropped as newspaper articles/rumors/ect..?
@TheEdVerse
Every caravan passing through a locale brings the latest news. Merchants and crew try to get free drinks in return for telling the tales to the locals. Things get retold and distorted, and the cycle repeats.
@PlanetXGamesCo
One of my favorite things you do @TheEdVerse is the “current clack” and latest news. It brings to life so much of Faerun and provides a nigh-endless source of adventure kick-offs.
@TheEdVerse
The original Current Clack is at the end of one of the two books in the Old Grey Box. Later Current Clacks appear at the end of some of my Elminster's Everwinking Eye columns in Polyhedron Newszine (RPGA). I gave out annual Current Clack handouts at TSR-era GenCons. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 30 Jul 2024 : 20:54:27
quote:
Originally posted by questing gm
On groups based on Romani
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817609968188563631 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817611512934224260 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817612854486278338 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817612934752690496 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817613452711440667
Jul 29, 2024
@PastorPlague
@TheEdVerse out of curiosity, do you have any groups you based on Romani? I’m just wondering since I am Roma and you are my favorite author.
@TheEdVerse
I avoid all direct real-world analogues, BUT I have at least seven groups in the Realms of displaced, wandering folk who have lost their homeland but cling to a shared culture/heritage, and others can see them as a known group (and usually want them elsewhere).
Two descended from Netherese flying city survivors who shunned the society of Halruaa and set out across Toril, lacking all magic but treasured relics and their powerful innate Gift. Of these, Haun Tereth of the Maunatori became a powerful early Cowled Wizard of Amn.
The other of these two groups is the Larantar, who are today farfaring caravan merchants who call their wagons their homes. They were descended from the farmers of Larantau, a now-vanished Netherese demesne that served three nearby flying cities.
The Larantar pass intel to each other, swap goods (especially stolen goods), provide safe havens for any fellow Larantar, and seek more magic for themselves (notably, nursing aged, dying, and sorely wounded mages in return for tutelage).
So this last group would likely most closely resemble the Romani stereotypes of earlier times, across Europe. In the Realms, the Larantar are inclined to help all outcasts (rebels, persecuted nobles) "just because."
I know she was specifically mentioning that ED had .... so not necessarily WotC... but the Gur were supposed to be somewhat like them.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Gur
That being said, I know there's some kind of sore spot that I won't say I fully understand regarding romani and how ravenloft was representing the vistani.... so maybe people want to forget the Gur exist. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Jul 2024 : 04:26:44
On the name 'Forgotten Realms'
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1818022613190590829
Jul 30, 2024
@JohanGruber
Any truth to Earth being the forgotten realm, as the portals that lead to it from Toril or Abeir-Toril were believed to be closed a long time back?
@TheEdVerse
That's indeed the origin of my name "Forgotten Realms," coined in 1966, 8 years before D&D first appeared, though I had Earth historians calling Toril that, for that very reason (which is why we have legends of dragons, etc. but don't meet them in the streets daily). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Jul 2024 : 15:06:15
On groups based on Romani
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817609968188563631 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817611512934224260 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817612854486278338 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817612934752690496 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817613452711440667
Jul 29, 2024
@PastorPlague
@TheEdVerse out of curiosity, do you have any groups you based on Romani? I’m just wondering since I am Roma and you are my favorite author.
@TheEdVerse
I avoid all direct real-world analogues, BUT I have at least seven groups in the Realms of displaced, wandering folk who have lost their homeland but cling to a shared culture/heritage, and others can see them as a known group (and usually want them elsewhere).
Two descended from Netherese flying city survivors who shunned the society of Halruaa and set out across Toril, lacking all magic but treasured relics and their powerful innate Gift. Of these, Haun Tereth of the Maunatori became a powerful early Cowled Wizard of Amn.
The other of these two groups is the Larantar, who are today farfaring caravan merchants who call their wagons their homes. They were descended from the farmers of Larantau, a now-vanished Netherese demesne that served three nearby flying cities.
The Larantar pass intel to each other, swap goods (especially stolen goods), provide safe havens for any fellow Larantar, and seek more magic for themselves (notably, nursing aged, dying, and sorely wounded mages in return for tutelage).
So this last group would likely most closely resemble the Romani stereotypes of earlier times, across Europe. In the Realms, the Larantar are inclined to help all outcasts (rebels, persecuted nobles) "just because." |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Jul 2024 : 15:03:15
On mage sigils
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817604330197053907 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817609313428382143 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817614120113651999
Jul 29, 2024
@Artie_Pavlov
@TheEdVerse no idea how mages' sigils are created or if there are any rules, but does this look lore-friendly for Juniper's sigil? It is basically two letters arranged to look like something else and a star for the Art/Mystra
@TheEdVerse
There are rules, administered by the clergy of Mystra, but they are acting as the heralds do, for blazons: making sure no duplications or near-duplications occur (and no "deliberate confusion deceptions"). Juniper's sigil looks fine to me.
@Artie_Pavlov
Are there any restrictions? Like lude drawings or something like that?
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes. Huge list.
Sigil must be clearly seen from a distance so no shading/intricate drawings, can't make use of colours/hues, can't resemble any existing sigil closely enough to be mistaken for it, can't suggest a tie/kinship/heritage that doesn't exist, etc. ...
@StevenESchend
Sorry to butt in, but I’m curious. A topic we’d not discussed, Ed, was an idea that Khelben’s final Sigil was actually a compound of at least two previous sigils held by other IDs of his over centuries. Would that be kosher or only allowed by Mystra’s fiat?
@TheEdVerse
That would be kosher, and there are precedents (earlier mages and liches who switched identities to cover up their longevity on the scene). Azuth would watch closely for misuse, of course. We must talk. Many things, and much drink. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Jul 2024 : 03:06:35
On orthodonture
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817301523950416322
Jul 28, 2024
@missmuttz
Has orthodonture been invented?
@TheEdVerse
In the Realms? In the sense of plates with "replacement" missing teeth, yes. In the sense of shifting existing teeth to provide a "better bite," no. In the Realms, your natural (as opposed to damaged) teeth arrangement is what the gods intended for you. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 29 Jul 2024 : 02:56:03
On power words
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817300424367440319 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817302782359032016 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817303401392124161 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817307623227523183 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817375064389476576 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817413740544893422 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817415562793734333 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817432946938150915 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817417112031318523 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817307625291407550 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817307626771714495 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817371821886341553 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817373002863952124
Jul 28, 2024
@lion_argent
I will die on this hill:
"Power Word Kill" is wrong.
Should be "Power Word Die", obviously.
Writing a #DnD text on power word spells.
Hey @TheEdVerse the only thing I could find is that power words were invented (discovered?) by the Netherese. Is there anything more on origins?
@TheEdVerse
"Power word" spells came from dragons, whose magic was (1st Ed) verbal only. The Netherese, the Imaskari, and before them, elves, all "eavesdropped" them from dragons, then developed their own versions of what they'd witnessed cast, and so knew could be done.
@ulgulanoth
#129300;Hmm so would that mean all the "Power Word" spells are in draconic? Or at least derived from draconic?
@TheEdVerse
Derived from Draconic, yes.
Many are "slightly altered" Draconic words, the slight alteration being the syllables that are the Weave-calling-and-suffusing incantation. (To stop dragons giving other dragons directions from inadvertently hurling multiple spells.)
@Stormer455
Do they also have a basis in origin with true name magic?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, in that dragons seem to have discovered that truenames gave magical connections to their owners before anyone else, and developed verbal-only spells exploiting that before other species.
@TheEdVerse
So, the actual word spoken for Power Word Stun is
arandguthmuntharcaniss
(from:
Arand = core, heart of
Arcaniss = magic
Guth = to push, to nudge, to shove (pronounced “Gooth”)
Munth = stun, stunned (amusingly, munthrek means human)
@Rhys_CV
How does a nerd manage to get all that out before I punch him in the jaw?
@TheEdVerse
And THAT is why a human wizard who gets hold of a Power Word spell using the original Draconic might well spend the two tendays or month or more tinkering with it to transfer its functionality to a much swifter, easier to say word.
Note: nonsense words are safest.
@fullmetalnyuu
I always assumed the spells implied that you spoke the word with such power that it just...worked. Like, you were essentially commanding someone to be stunned or killed by saying very powerfully "Kill" or "Stun"
@TheEdVerse
Gary borrowed the "Power Word" concept from an existing fantasy trope of "Words of Power" (found in more than a dozen classic fantasy novels) in which such words were secret words known only to mages, not "everyday words."
@fullmetalnyuu
I really appreciate the clarification, I wish the actual verbal components for all spells were common knowledge.
@TheEdVerse
When I wrote Spellfire, I included full descriptions, including the incantations, for all spells cast in the book (so DMs could read them to players)...and the editors cut them all, deciding that "the fiction should NOT closely mirror the game."
Huh?
@osgamer74
How metal is that!?
Editors obviously hate metal
@TheEdVerse
My thinking at the time was that gamers who didn't like fiction, or my writing style, wouldn't feel Spellfire was a dead loss if it included twenty or so detailed descriptions of casting this or that Players Handbook spell, that they could read aloud during play.
@manthisiseasy
It's never too late to give us them
@TheEdVerse
Okay, just one (Fireball):
By tongue of bat and sulphur's reek
And the mystic words I now do speak
Where I wish to warm life's game
Let empty air burst into FLAME!
@TheEdVerse
And the actual word spoken for Power Word Kill is
arandguthkurikarcaniss
(from all of the above but replacing munth with:
Kurik = slaughter)
@TheEdVerse
But if you instead wanted to cast a spell called Power Word Die, you’d say:
arandguthloreatarcaniss
(from all of the above but replacing kurik with:
Loreat = die)
[pronounced, BTW, "oarandGOOTHloar-ee-attar-CAN-iss"]
@twitcher1979
The way I always interpreted it was that it was a Word of Power that could Kill. Lord Soth's version of it was "DIE!" I dunno. Maybe I just don't look deep enough into it.
@TheEdVerse
My Realmslore replies apply just to the Realms, but in this case to Gary's original lore, too.
Many arcane spellcasters tinker with magic they learn or acquire as treasure; once you have a Word of Power that works, you can modify, so the word you use can be anything.
@ZeromaruX
So, the spell should be cast by saying "svent" (to kill, in Draconic)? Or "versellex: svent" (Power Word: To Kill)?
@TheEdVerse
If literal is your style, "svent" PLUS the modifying words that add the incantation can be your uttered spell. The modifiers must be there, to draw on the Weave/bind magical energy to the word –or every time you said the word "kill" you'd unleash deadly magic. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 28 Jul 2024 : 10:44:17
On inspirations of dragonborn
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1813394465555443978 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1817299467835527572
Jul 17, 2024
@Rykoth1
@TheEdVerse I have a question, assuming you had a hand in their creation. What were some of the inspirations for the culture of the Dragonborn, how their clans are structured, and their hierarchy? I love how their natural "good" nature is contrasted with a warrior culture.
@TheEdVerse
I had half-dragons in my original Realms (pre-D&D), but "dragonborn" in either of the versions still official in the game aren't my creations. I believe TSR staffers and later WotC staffers crafted them.
@Moss_Yeti
My friends and I have been debating and we need to know: If a dragonborn (or half-dragon) is born from a dragon mother, I'm assuming they come from an egg. But what if they come from a human mother? Do they still come out in an egg? Or do they come out like human babies do?
@TheEdVerse
They come out like human babies do, except that the newborn is wrapped in a caul (thin but tough translucent pearly-gray porous membrane; the baby CAN breathe through it, if no one tears it). So: flexible eggshell covering of sorts. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 26 Jul 2024 : 13:54:10
On why the Ninth layer of Hell is called Nessus
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1816695970656027066
Jul 26, 2024
@JackGogsbane
@TheEdVerse Can you give me some insight as to why the Ninth layer of Hell is called Nessus? All I can find is the centaur by that name, before your article in Dragon #76.;)
@TheEdVerse
Sure.
Many ancient real-world texts (Jewish, Islamic, Zoroastrian, the various Christian churches etc.) mention various ‘bad places souls go to after death, as punishment for evil deeds’ by various names (the Nine Hells concept comes from these texts, too).
I borrowed one Greek name, néomai (“to return”), from which we get the names Nestor and Nessus, thanks to an idea Roger Zelazny had talked about with me (he used it in his novel SHADOWJACK) about how Darksiders, when they die, are reborn in the bad place, naked and with a stone in their hands which is their soul. I loved that, and made it “my” lowest layer of Hell, for the Realms. “Nestor” sounded like the name of a being, “Nessus” sounded like a place. So, Nessus it became. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 06:06:13
On trade unions in FR
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1815497507709038886
Jul 23, 2024
@aarongrantdj
Question for @TheEdVerse
Do trade unions exist for any professions in FR? Or would guilds largely cover this?
@TheEdVerse
No trade unions; that's what guilds are for (set standards and prices, "anoint" members so public can trust their skills). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 05:29:16
On Baldur's Gate's gate
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1815496912864240093
Jul 23, 2024
@TheIndigoGaming
Just found out the entrance to Baldur's Gate is a portcullis, not a gate.
Inconsolable.
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTG-oZjXIAA9W_J?format=jpg&name=small>
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTG-oaXWQAAyjDV?format=jpg&name=small>
@TheEdVerse
That's the servants' entrance. The front entrance looks more like this (only with a soaring city behind it):
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTHwzLXXUAAqYjb?format=jpg&name=small> |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 05:21:22
On bowling in the Realms
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1815457089969680511
Jul 23, 2024
@BryceBarro40599
@TheEdVerse is their a sport similar to bowling in the Realms?
@TheEdVerse
Several.
On pond and lake ice in winter, orcs play Nuuglah (“New-GLAH!”) which translated is “Bowling Gnomes” (nuug = gnome, gnomes, glah = to smite and knock over), the gnomes being marked by frozen dungpiles, rocks, or ice boulders.
On meadows and lawns, humans and elves and half-elves play Castledown, which is like lawn bowling (the “bowl” or ball that’s bowled to play is rolled, not thrown, but is round like a bocce ball, though imperfections are allowed, an inheritance of when broken-off 3) statue heads, or skulls, were used; the jack or white target ball is “the castle”).
In the Moonsea North, the Vast, and the Dales, “Nine Knights” is played on pond and lake ice in winter: lines of nine identical "knights" or markers are set up in a straight 4) line across the field of hurling, and discs of ice are tossed/bounced/slid across the ice to try to knock them over. Each player throws three “sieges,” scoring a point per knight fallen (knocked out of position doesn’t count if the knight ends up upright); 5) highest score wins, and ties mean extra sieges in elimination rounds. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 05:17:02
On Ott Steeltoes
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814407440244367482
Jul 20, 2024
@TheEdVerse
Ott Steeltoes is a surly, peg-legged dwarven pirate who is one of the Xanathar's most trusted guild members, and has been around since AD&D FR1: Waterdeep and the North!
Explore his life and history with me!
#dnd #forgottenrealms #realmslore
#9654;#65039; https://youtu.be/n0I38z1ahPE |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 05:12:31
On Toril connected to Earth
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814384511704236263
@thechairmanxyz
@TheEdVerse is our Earth connected to the Realms despite your own trips to elminsters study (quite frankly you are in realmslore like sort of a reporter of that realm)
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes. The name "Forgotten Realms" refers to we of Earth having "forgotten" all the gates/portals that link us to Toril, and how to use them. So, baked into the setting from the outset (ten years before D&D). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 04:57:47
On the Weave in space
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814330729452491069 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814518173313520101 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814388409538097399 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814332573390127267 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814334136854753382 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814337817486537152 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814338827030311080 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814376599372079171 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814384825400471824 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814511194587177392 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814336477729620160 https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814513391077069228
Jul 20, 2024
@dLsd_25
Question @TheEdVerse , does the weave function any more or less in space? Would something like a black hole affect it?
@TheEdVerse
The Weave reaches throughout Realmspace, but in the “void” areas of other crystal spheres is thin/attenuated. A black hole would tug the Weave towards it, so if you are approaching a black hole, magic grows stronger so you can access it more easily to work spells (so for example, if you want to escape the hole and want a teleport or similar translocation spell to get away, you can draw on spells of level slots above what you can currently reach, or have left, to try).
@ThePiazzaForum
The Weave in other crystal spheres?
Surely Mystra is not allowed to extend the Weave through the Phlogiston, without authorisation from @GrubbsTweet.#128521;
Having said that, maybe Phlogistion rivers are "concentrated Weave tunnels" that helmsman can fly inside. #129300;
@TheEdVerse
I said the Weave in Realmspace. In other spheres, the Weave exists as these tiny auras around artifacts or magic items: "tiny motes of Mystra" NOT connected to Mystra the main Weave. She can sense what goes on in a mote IF the artifact is hers or powerful enough.
@TheEdVerse
Remember each ship sailing the Flow generates its own gravity well? So you put something enchanted with the Weave aboard (like, ahem, a spelljamming helm, or a glowing globe), and it generates a sphere of the Weave about a hundred yards across (artifacts = larger).
@Forthebooba
Wait the idea of magic pooling in areas and allowing access to spell slots above what you can cast is really dope. I've always allowed multiple spellcasters to pool their abilities to cast higher level spells, but the idea of just a bundle of the weave doing it too is awesome.
@TheEdVerse
It happens also in "the heart of the forest" dells and other localized nodes, like druid's groves and certain caverns (luckily for the rest of us, usually too small for dragons to enter). Warning: some magic-hurling creatures may lair in such places.
@mapltree
Something I've always been confused on is the difference between Weave magic and Wild Magic? What is the difference? Is wild Magic just the Weave but unfiltered because of the caster?
@TheEdVerse
Magic is "quickly drawing on natural forces to produce specific effects."
The Weave is the unseen webwork of natural forces throughout the world, but only when accessed through arcane magic rather than other means (other types of magic).
"Wild magic" is what we call those forces producing unforeseen/uncontrolled effects.
This can occur spontaneously, most often happens when newly-cast/unlashed magic hits older magic active in the same area, and some arcane spellcasters can cast/spur "wild magic."
@thechairmanxyz
Shadowweave?
@TheEdVerse
A perfume worn by femme fatales who quicken my pulses. ;}
@thechairmanxyz
lmao!!! it would work.
@TheEdVerse
Okay, seriously: the Shadow Weave can be metaphorically seen as the spaces between the strands of the Weave. It's a "shadow" or "echo" system that feeds upon/relies upon the Weave for its structure and reach, but has different gatekeepers.
Shar established it to she and her clergy controlled, and not Mystra, Azuth, their clergy, and arcane spellcasters following "the rules" of established arcane spells.
However, just by collapsing the Weave in a locale, Mystra can "crash" that section of Shadow Weave, too; the Shadow 3) Weave needs the Weave to exist and function (but not vice versa).
@WeaponNR
Forgot where I read it, but couldn't Halaster uae both the true Weave and the Shadow Weave? How is that possible? Different personalities using different Weaves?
@TheEdVerse
All "Weavemasters" (i.e. all of the Chosen of Mystra and Azuth) can use both, as they are absolute masters of the Weave, and can see how the Shadow Weave relies on it, and so work through the Shadow Weave.
Analogy: if you built a skyscraper and are still up in the 2) boom crane, and someone else builds a cagework scaffolding up to your boom crane, you can see down into it, are already familiar with cagework, and so can readily use your crane to access their scaffolding.
@WeaponNR
But guessing Mystra or Azuth wouldn't be terribly happy about Elminster dipping his toes into the Shadow Weave? Or have they kind of accepted that the Shadow Weave is here to stay and a part of the Weave, for better or worse?
@Heimdayl
From my reading of Ed’s answer, I think you’d find Weave masters can work through the Shadow Weave to access the Weave (they use the anchor points that Shar created to allow the Shadow Weave to “drain” the Weave), thus they never truly use the Shadow Weave
@TheEdVerse
Exactly!
@iamJimohIsiaq
Because Shar stole the shadow weave doesn't mean it isn't part of the weave i.e Mystra. The weave is Magic. Magic IS Mystra
@WeaponNR
Yeah, that's often had me wondering how successful of a gambit the shadow weave actually is for Shar. Did it accidentally grant Mystra MORE power? Does it give Shar a back door to use against Mystra? Or did it accidently make Shar somewhat depandant on Mystra?
@TheEdVerse
In order: no, no (though Shar thought it would), and yes.
Shar has started to realize that, but it's taken her surprisingly long.
That's what delusions of supreme godhood will do to you.
@_Flameborne
This might seem like a silly question but how much of the cosmos came from your imagination too?
How much of the Outer Planes and Realmspace did you have a hand in creating and tangentially, out of the FR Gods, who is your favourite/who would you personally choose to worship?
@TheEdVerse
The cosmologies were created over time, in-house (by staff designers at TSR and later WotC).
Gary Gygax outlined the planes in issue 8 of The Dragon, then in issue 67 detailed the Astral Plane. I detailed the Nine Hells in three issues of Dragon, and have had an ongoing hand down the years in detailing planes crafted by others. Stephen Inniss and I co-detailed Limbo, in approximately 360 never-published pages. (That's where Stephen's lillend monster comes from.)
And if I lived in the Realms, I'd worship ALL of the deities; no sane inhabitant of Toril is a monotheist.
I do have faves: Mystra, Azuth, Eldath, Lurue, Chauntea, Sharess, Eilistraee, but almost all of them are "my children," so I don't want to choose just one.
@JohnMoreyAuthor
What about henotheism as opposed to monotheism? Where you acknowledge the existence of multiple gods but exclusively devote yourself to one? The ancient near East ran on this theology, as did much of Ancient Greece and Rome, and certain sects of Hinduism still practice it now.
@TheEdVerse
Almost all clergy and most paladins in the Realms are henotheists, but almost everybody else believes in, and worships, all the gods–at least of their race's pantheon, or their region's pantheon. (The Realms is not a real world analog.) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 04:53:11
On 20 year old human vs elf
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814330226765180953
Jul 20, 2024
@ReviNight1
@TheEdVerse Hello Ed! How differently (on average) would a 20 year old human and a 20 year-old elf behave?
@TheEdVerse
This varies widely with the individuals involved, but in general (in the Realms), the elf will seem far more "mature" because they've mastered reading social cues so much more (they know how to act/what to say to elicit particular reactions from others around them). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 04:39:26
On role of divination magic in royal courts and high councils of Faerun
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814142768953856213
Jul 19, 2024
@joechang2015
Hi @TheEdVerse, what role does divination magic play in royal courts and high councils of Faerun?
@TheEdVerse
It varies greatly. There are lots of royalty and nobility who think those who cast divination magics use them to sway those in power to their own plans, policies, and views. Trust comes hard. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 23 Jul 2024 : 04:31:51
On tunnel books
https://x.com/TheEdVerse/status/1814009542151119349
Jul 19, 2024
@CommonplacePub1
Good evening @TheEdVerse,
Can you please tell me if tunnel books exist in the Realms? If yes, is there anything interesting about them you’d like to share?
Thank you Ed! Take care.
@TheEdVerse
In the Realms, these exist as ads (views of inns and taverns that include maps in the "frame pages"), and as tales for children (mainly "monsters lurk everywhere" tales).
Many have secret messages, pass-phrases and directions hidden in the frame pages.
Glad you asked! |
|
|
