| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| questing gm |
Posted - 05 Nov 2023 : 14:05:37
Since starting up his own Discord server (https://discord.onl/greenwoods-grotto/), Ed Greenwood has been answering Realms-related questions in the #q4ed channel. Although it's free to join the Discord and view his answers, but I believe it requires a subscription to Ed's Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/EdGreenwood) to be given access to ask him questions there.
So since his answers are free to view by anyone on his Discord and for the benefit of those who are not on Discord, I'm starting and updating my compilation of his answers in this scroll. I'll leave it to the wisdom of moderating scribes if anything should be changed or removed.
I won't be able to put down everything (I already have 300+ answered questions to put down), so consider updates here will be intermittent, and will take a while before it catches up to the latest questions answered. (Or just join the Discord if you want the latest  )
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Nov 2023 : 23:16:11
On the place of the the Shadows of the Avatar trilogy within the Realms
Cdawg — 03/07/2023 11:10 PM
Something I wanted to ask Ed was the place of the the Shadows of the Avatar trilogy within the Realms. It has some oddities as it does not seem to line up with the Avatar trilogy. Midnight seems to appear as the risen goddess of magic before the end of the time of troubles. Ao makes a personal appearance in Safehold, which seems to not be considered by later sources (and has a personality). Even in some of the later books, which lists the Realms novels you wrote, omits the Shadow of the Avatar trilogy. What is going on with that? And why the messy timeline?
Ed Greenwood — 03/08/2023 12:07 AM
I was asked to write the Shadows of the Avatar to "fix" the Avatar trilogy's lore, and to write views of what it felt like to live through the events of that time. So (the "latest written rule") it supercedes the Avatar lore. Book listings in flyleaves at that time were limited to titles in print and available, and due to cash flow problems, that trilogy's printing history was "one and done," so they weren't put on some lists. And continued to be omitted from later lists for two reasons: lack of institutional memory (new staffers not knowing about earlier books, so just grabbing lists from a previous book and adding the newest at the end) and style: you almost never do an exhaustive list unless everything's in print, because you want a short one-page list, not pages and pages in a perback listing a catalogue that readers will just sigh and flip past and grumble that the novel could have been that many pages longer. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Nov 2023 : 14:56:18
On anything notable on Piergeirons Palace's inner courtyard
Agneus — 03/05/2023 7:10 PM
@Ed Greenwood Hello! Is there anything notable on Piergeirons Palace inner courtyard (anything first time visitors would notice)? Also do Waterdhavians still call the palace Piergeirons around 1492 DR or has that name grown out of fashion by that point? Thanks in advance for your answer.
Ed Greenwood — 03/07/2023 10:32 AM (Part 1)
In 1492 DR, the Open Lord’s residence and seat of administrative government in Waterdeep is still known as Piergeiron’s Palace. The Masked Lords have debated renaming it several times, and in 1481 DR got around to formally dubbing it “Waterdeep House,” but EVERYONE ignored that, and went right on calling it Piergeiron’s Place—including the Lords themselves.
Originally, the Palace simply stood in a sea of cobbles, with no surrounding walls. Then in the late 1300s (after the onset of the Spellplague), it got a front arc of ornate iron walls and gates (akin to real-world Buckingham Palace in London, England), and some statues got erected within that: a merfolk riding a standing wave, to symbolize the friendly relations between the “dryshore” humans and the merfolk of Deepwater Harbor; and a statue of Ahghairon frowning warningly out at the city, hands clasped atop a staff in the same classic pose swordsmen use when grounding a vertical hand-and-a-half sword an resting their chin on their hands, that are weapped around the pommel.
Then came the Second Sundering, and it caused great physical damage to the Palace, which was rebuilt as a thinner building connected (castle-like) to a curving row of towers connected by walls thick enough to have rooms and a long central corridor within them (the configuration the Palace has in the 1490s DR, and as shown on the “brown 5e map” of the city). This version of the Palace encloses a courtyard, and it should be noted that the Open Lord’s apartments and the chamber in which the Masked Lords habitually meet and vote survived the damage and rebuilding (they are the same as in Piergeiron’s time).
This “ring-wall” of the Palace has two narrow (a horse with rider can fit through, but that’s it) north and south doors, normally closed, locked, and barred from within) doors, known imaginatively enough as the North Door and the South Door, and it also has, at about the center of its eastern curve, a Grand Gate...
(Part 2)
…(a two-wagon-width main gate of two broad metal-sheathed doors, of which only the more southern one habitually stands open in daylit hours; with just one panel open, an average wagon can pass in and out flanked by two people standing side-by-side on both sides of the wagon, none of them quite touching).
The visitor entering this courtyard through the Grand Gate will notice four features.
The front double doors of the main Palace building are flanked on the south by an exact replica of the merfolk statue, in green-black stone (serpentine stone) and standing twelve feet tall, upon a granite pedestal of 6 feet in height (the original was destroyed in the Second Sundering’s ravages), and on the north by the 9-foot-tall statue of Ahghairon (the original; it survived the Second Sundering unscathed) on a 6-foot-tall granite pedestal. Neither bears an inscription.
The courtyard also holds a long hitching-rail of stone obelisks pierced with holes, through which have been threaded copper-painted alloy bars to take reins and tethers, that flanks the inside of the curving ring-wall from the Grand Gate north all the way to the North Door.
And at a point that’s both halfway between the Grand Gate and the North Door, and halfway between the ring-wall and the Palace proper, there’s a round stone fountain fed by a spring from below, an old Palace well now repurposed as water for mounts, gulls and pigeons galore, and thirsty passersby (there are bronze cups, replaced hourly for health reasons, chained to the edges of the stone surround, right where the springs bubble up; this isn’t a “shoot jets of water” fountain, but a bubble up about a handspan above the rest of the water fountain, which drains way through piping to be pumped throughout Castle Ward (and if you’re thinking this is a great access point to poison Castle Ward, you’d be right, which is why there have been Palace guards and a Watchful Order duty magist posted to keep watch over it since it was completed). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Nov 2023 : 14:50:28
On getting help to review and author NDAs
JacobJ — 03/07/2023 2:53 AM
@Ed Greenwood Do you get help reviewing and authoring NDAs, or have you become so practiced at them that you take that task on yourself? I'm actually amazed at how (seemingly) narrow you've managed to keep some of your NDAs given everyone you work with would want to lay claim to the whole Forgotten Realms if you let them!
Ed Greenwood — 03/07/2023 9:38 AM
NDAs are set by the copyright holder; the Realms NDAs I've signed were issued to me by TSR and later Wizards of the Coast. I review mine, and the few I've issued, I've written. I would be far more restricted by NDAs if the original Realms agreement between me and TSR didn't exist. I can't get into specifics of particular NDAs because they usually include language that forbids such discussion ("The first rule of Fight Club..."). |
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Posted - 30 Nov 2023 : 13:43:20
On how House Ousstyl jump in Menzoberranzan
A Bear of Very Little Brain — 03/06/2023 8:08 AM
@Ed Greenwood I'm not certain if there is a proper answer, or if you're the one who has it and can say it, but in 1372 DR House Ousstyl in Menzoberranzan is the 52nd house, and then in 1480 DR it's listed as being the 19th house, and my question is: how on earth did they manage that jump?
Ed Greenwood — 03/06/2023 12:49 PM
The short answer is: many wars among the houses above them. We see at the beginning of the classic novel HOMELAND how the losing side in a Menzo house war is exterminated, and it follows that everyone else in the city "moves up one place" in the rankings. Well, over a century in bloodthirsty Menzo, lots of wars mean lots of houses going down. And if Ousstyl wins just a few wars ("few" so they stay strong), they'll move up that way, too. |
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Posted - 30 Nov 2023 : 13:39:11
On Szass Tam as a Warlock's Patron
The Entire State of NJ — 03/05/2023 1:59 PM
@Ed Greenwood Thanks as always for answering questions. Question for you about Szass Tam. Is he someone who would take on Warlock's as a Patron, and if he were to, who would he be likely to take on as a Warlock,what goals would he be likely to try to achieve through them, and how would he likely interact with them?
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 2:13 PM
No. Maybe later on, but right now, Szass is too busy and too paranoid. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 30 Nov 2023 : 13:30:05
On Ahghairon's apprentices
Sheepy — 03/05/2023 11:47 AM
Greetings, friend @Ed Greenwood! I dig that I was (inadvertently) right with my pizza comment. I've oft been amused by that debate in real-life; I myself rather like a Hawaiian pizza. On a more serious note, though... Did Ahghairon have any apprentices? Can you tell of any of them, if he did?
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 1:57 PM
Yes, he did, and I know I've answered a lore question about this already, but I recall there were several NDAs to be stickhandled around, so I'll have to check and get back to you. This one may take a while.
Ed Greenwood — 03/10/2023 11:03 AM
NDA dodging continues, but one apprentice I can definitely reveal: Haeradauntra the Silent Shadow. A seven-foot-tall, gaunt-thin, usually silent woman who walked behind Ahghairon on the rare public occasions when they appeared together (acting as his rearguard), and so earned her nickname. She mastered planar magic and abjurations, and after his death went planeswalking and has hasn’t been seen since. She was younger than Ahghairon, dwelt with him in his tower, there were the inevitable rumors that they were lovers but nothing more is known on this matter, and she was known to be able to transform herself into a wraith-like “tattered black flying form” and travel in utter silence in this way. When Ahghairon died in 1256 DR, she saw to his body, tidied and sealed his tower, and left Waterdeep, never to be seen again. |
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Posted - 30 Nov 2023 : 13:24:12
On Basal golems and the blood forges that appear in Blood & Magic
Hawakhuri — 03/05/2023 7:55 AM
Hello Mr. ed @Ed Greenwood , my question is about the Basal golems and the blood forges that appear in Blood & Magic. These golems are generated with mana and are created by the art of the forges themselves or do they have to be handled and shaped by a mage? additionally do these forges still exist in faerun?
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 8:19 AM
Basal golems do not have to be handled or shaped by a mage; they "appear" on a blood forge. Though various conflicting tales are told about what sort of entity can create or set up a blood forge, most sages agree that they "appeared" so swiftly that no sages know for sure who constructed them (there are strong adherents to the beliefs that they were brought from other planes, or were spelljammed into Realmspace (the crystal sphere that holds Toril). There are no known blood forges left in Faerûn; they have all been destroyed (a few before the Spellplague, by various magically-gifted folk, some working in teams dedicated to this goal, and all of the rest in wild-magic-spewing explosions, during the Spellplague). |
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Posted - 29 Nov 2023 : 05:39:46
On suitably expensive home for purchase in Suzail
Cdawg — 03/03/2023 9:17 PM
Hi Ed, if a nouveau riche decided to move to Cormyr and establish herself in Suzail, what kind of suitably expensive home may be available for purchase (and for how much?)Are there any mansions about? And if she unwisely decided to rapidly try to insert herself into the cut and thrust of Cormyrran politics, how does she best make her entry? Moneylending to cash strapped nobles?
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 4:42 AM
I will eventually do a third Suzail Streets Patreon Post that will touch on this (right now, I’m working on a second one to address Jeremy G’s question about The Goose of Doom), but here are some short answers to tide you over: in the northwestern part of the city (east and west of where the Promenade’s western end curves to the Horngate), in the blocks closest to the wall, are mansions, some quite grand and many renovated often, where non-noble “newcoin” wealthy, noble-wannabes, and high society grandcloaks can often “buy in,” as fortunes fall for some and they sell off and move to less haughty addresses they can live in with lower taxes and fewer servants. The closer you get to the Palace, the more likely you are, if desiring to buy a grand abode, to run into nobles who want to also buy the same address as you do, and they will use all of their clout to beat you into owning it (and usually, matters being as they are in Suzail, win).
Anyone wealthy enough can announce themselves at the door of many Suzailan upper-crust feasts and revels, and get invited in. Thereafter, it’s a matter of their behaviour if they get to stay, or get invited back. This tactic works well if this particular nouveau riche is beautiful, if she makes a “splash” beforehand with a grand entrance in high-fashion attire into an expensive eatery or club along the Promenade to ‘get noticed,’ and if she doesn’t say or do anything too lower-class or against the Obarskyrs or the way things are done in Suzail.
And yes, moneylending to slim-purse nobles, IF she doesn’t personally identify any such nobles publicly, ever, is a VERY good way to “stay in,” once in. Partnering with them (bankrolling them, but letting them take public credit for leading and guiding, without—as they’ll imply—“dirtying their hands” with coin or any details) is even better.
(Part 2): And yes, moneylending to slim-purse nobles, IF she doesn’t personally identify any such nobles publicly, ever, is a VERY good way to “stay in,” once in. Partnering with them (bankrolling them, but letting them take public credit for leading and guiding, without—as they’ll imply—“dirtying their hands” with coin or any details) is even better. Moneylenders will have to be silenced, eventually, but partners, never. Especially if they let the nobles skim money off the partnership and say and do nothing about it; that makes her a trusted ally. |
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Posted - 29 Nov 2023 : 05:35:36
On 15th century Sisterhood of Silver Fire
Juniper Churlgo — 02/20/2023 5:53 AM
Honored Master Greenwood - is 15th century Sisterhood of Silver Fire under NDA? if not, can you share some updates on what the ladies is up to today?
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 3:56 AM
There is an NDA, unfortunately, involving a computer game license that AFAIK never happened, so I’ll check and hopefully get back to you.
Ed Greenwood — 03/10/2023 11:07 AM
NDA checking still ongoing, but I can provide a little lore. The Sisterhood of the Silver Fire is still active as of 1496 DR. It remains all-female, all human or half-elven, very secretive, and very small (twelve members, at most; two were recently killed, so in 1492 there were fourteen members).
At least two members, Ravauntra Ormrar (brown-skinned and -eyed, and having ankle-length, glossy black hair), who was born in Turmish; and Chalice Swordlake (a chalk-white-skinned, emerald-eyed brunette from Athkatla), are residents of Waterdeep, and fast friends, who work together to blunt Cult of the Dragon activities in the Deep, and relay all they learn of Cult operations and dracoliches and their lairs to other Silver Fire sisters.
One of whom, Yanandra “Bluemantle” Bloumantra, a short, young-looking (often mistaken for a girl due to her petite build and softspoken, shy manners) Tethyrian now based in Secomber, is a very active roving agent against dracoliches all over the Sword Coast North; she leads an all-female adventuring band (many of them halflings) known as the Skullbane Sisters, to destroy dracoliches and plunder their hoards (they don’t know of Yanandra’s membership in the Silver Fire sisterhood). The Skullbaners energetically hunt down dracoliches, sometimes spying on Cult of the Dragon members in hopes of being led to a “bone dragon”—and not into a trap. |
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Posted - 29 Nov 2023 : 05:33:12
On Ed's contributions in Thay Land of the Red Wizards and the Rashemen Campaign Guide
GDallison — 02/12/2023 7:36 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood , If i were an obsessed realmslore junkie (which i unashamedly am), and i had just purchased a copy of Thay Land of the Red Wizards and Rashemen Campaign Guide, which chapters etc should i pay extra attention to if i wanted to focus on your contributions?
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 3:47 AM
For both of them I provided root lore that’s throughout, but if you find yourself reading a recipe or a location tour or details of home and habits, as might be found in a Volo’s Guide, you’re likely reading something I penned. |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 15:38:44
On how does Rhymanthiin sustain its population and how do people enter and leave the city
#128293;Alter_Myrddin#128293; — 02/12/2023 8:23 PM
Hello @Ed Greenwood. Rhymanthiin is mentioned as serving as a center of magic, knowledge and the unity of the good races of the world. It is still a hidden city however and doesnt appear on any recent maps of the region. It is also mentioned as being as large in population as the city of Waterdeep
My question is how does the city sustain its population and how do people enter and leave the city. Are there permanent portals or is there rituals used to gain entry to the city?. How much do people of the Realms, both good and evil, know of Rhymanthiin. Has anything happened to it as a result of the Second Sundering or some other unknown plot. It seems such an important locale to not be talked about.
Sorry if this question was asked and I missed it
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 3:20 AM
And this is Steven Schend’s baby, and he’s here in this Discord, though he’s as busy as all the rest of us veteran creators and so, lore replies may take some time. |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 15:34:26
On speculating the size and composition of the labor force restoring Zhentil Keep to its former glory
DMHWolf_Fzoul's my spirit animal — 02/18/2023 4:32 AM
Thanks so much for all the lore and this wonderful piece of your brain you have graced us all with @Ed Greenwood. Just another wee question concerning the rebuild of Zhentil Keep. Would you be able to speculate as to the size and composition of the labor force restoring Zhentil Keep to its former glory? Lets say in 1491DR - 1493DR. I'd assume there would be a sizeable contingent of Banites loyal to Fzoul driving the rebuild? If the Zhentarim are turning away refugees (assuming they dont want extra mouths to feed), where would those refugees be from? The Shadovar ostensibly trashed the place over a century ago...
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 3:15 AM
At that time period, the labor force would be small, perhaps forty human overseers (Baneites with Zhentilar bodyguards, overseeing orc and half-orc paid masons, diggers, and the like) busily clearing out certain southeastern fringe areas to use as a work camp (walled materials storage, with a watchtower made from a repurposed spire of a ruined mansion), while a larger Baneite force is scattered all over the north shore ruins, exploring them (every last cellar, even the sewers). On the south shore, some of the docks would already have been cleared and put back into service, to bring in supplies, but rebuilding the bridges linking both parts of the city is in the future. |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 15:10:03
On what happens to the souls of vampires, vampire spawn, and liches when they are destroyed in the traditional way
The Entire State of NJ — 02/13/2023 2:41 AM
So to shorten down my prior question on vampires, vampire spawn, and liches, what happens to the souls of both when they are destroyed in the traditional way and how would that interact with true ressurection?
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 3:07 AM
There’s no simple answer to this. It’s another “it depends” reply, because the fate of the souls depends on deeds before undeath, deeds in undeath, and any magical safeguards, preparations, and exposures during undeath.
Souls are never truly gone. Even devourers of souls are only rending them for a period of time, ere they seep out and reform. Though by human measure, that period of time can be long. However, souls “degrade” with many experiences, and only grow stronger as a result of a few (such as contact with the Weave, or certain sorts of vitality/healing/creating magic), so souls can go ‘scrambled’ or insane, and when they return, will have only confused memories (at best) of both what they once were, and friends and foes from their past. They may be unable to properly control certain forms of existence, so a vampire that comes back may drift helplessly, not be able to attack or negotiate, a lich may be a disembodied awareness able only to feebly animate dead body parts like fingers or hands—and neither might be able to call up or control their innate magical abilities. |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 13:31:40
On what the biggest argument/confrontation between Khelben and Elminster has been
Lukas JP — 03/04/2023 6:52 AM
Hi @Ed Greenwood and @StevenSchend - could you tell us what the biggest argument/confrontation between Khelben and Elminster has been? Sure they both serve Mystra, but they are two big personalities with different methods after all #128578;
Ed Greenwood — 03/05/2023 2:48 AM
It was over what Khelben suspected (incorrectly) to be Elminster seeking to seduce the ‘returned’ Mystra, to be Mystra’s lover as before. Khelben saw an intimacy that existed not because of physical intimacy, but because Mystra trusted El, and asked him for advice. Khelben resented that closeness, and rebuked El, and El told him the failing was Khelben’s—NOT for not believing El, but for not being sufficiently close and supportive of the goddess. And Khelben knew El was right, so exploded in rage, and El sought to soothe, and Khelben got even angrier.
And the biggest argument between them “behind” that supreme one was, yes, over the Harpers and Moonstars, and Khelben’s tactic in creating the latter: as one of the founders of the Harpers, El was annoyed that Khelben felt he had to control them. El knows that Khelben is a control freak, but thinks this is a failing that it’s beyond high time Khelben outgrew. “Differing styles is fine, but folk are NOT thy possessions to control, or you are worse than the evil ye claim to be fighting.” And of course Khelben went up like a rocket over that. ;} |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 13:26:49
On Elminster and Khelben's preference for putting pineapple on pizza
Sheepy — 03/04/2023 11:46 AM
Whether or not pineapple was a pizza topping. Elminster, I hear, loves a ham and pineapple pizza. Khelben glares at anyone who even mentions putting pineapple on pizza
Ed Greenwood — 03/04/2023 12:49 PM
That is completely true, in canon lore: El loves Hawaiian (ham and pineapple) pizza. Khelben finds it revolting; he's a spicy meats and cheese (or even just three or more cheeses) guy. |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 13:20:38
On the relationship between Zhengyi the Witch-King and Szass Tam
Lukas JP — 03/02/2023 11:33 PM
Hey @Ed Greenwood, hope this one isn't NDA #128521; Wondered if you could shed some light on the relationship between Zhengyi the Witch-King and Szass Tam? Given how they were both powerful liches and Red Wizards, they must have been aware of one another - did they work to some mutually benefitial end, was it a rivalry, or something else entirely?
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 12:53 PM
They carefully avoided each other, because neither felt ready to take the other down utterly, and both were too busy with other things they wanted to achieve. And they were unintentionally running interference for each other (distracting other rulers who might otherwise have moved against them). |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 13:18:24
On how might a random farmer/merchant/noble react if they, through context clues, realized a nearby stranger is a lycanthrope
Malarite — 03/03/2023 10:09 AM
@Ed Greenwood How might a random farmer/merchant/noble react if they, through context clues, realized a nearby stranger is a lycanthrope? Do other details affect what reaction theyd have?
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 12:05 PM
Their reaction will depend on their own previous (and family lore”) experience with lycanthropes, how safe or unsafe they feel considering surroundings, allies or companions present or near, and access to priests (healers) and adventurers. Then it will depend on the behaviour of the “nearby stranger,” and then how beautiful the “nearby stranger” is, and then how calm/confident the random farmer/merchant/noble is (how well they’re armed, if there are barriers, if they’re sober).
So this is an “it depends” answer, but in general: there’d be instant wariness. No turning their back, no not being alert. Then there’d be: what SORT of lycanthrope? A werewolf? Or a weredragon (song dragon)? Or is it a weresnail? |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 13:13:05
On the identity and fate of Sharantyr's child
Cdawg — 03/02/2023 6:12 PM
Hi Ed, are you able to share the identity and fate of Sharantyr's child who was intended to serve Mystra?
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 11:49 AM
Sorry, no: a shiny NDA blocks me. For now. |
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Posted - 27 Nov 2023 : 13:10:42
On the happy helms served at Montalar's Happy House
Sheepy — 03/01/2023 7:15 PM
@Ed Greenwood, the happy helms served at Montalar's Happy House – are such foods served elsewhere, under other names? I was thinking of something similar for a place in Waterdeep
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 11:44 AM
Oh, yes, under many different names. The collective term is “hand pies,” meaning meant to be held in the hand and so could be consumed while walking. The term means a savory pie entirely enclosed in pastry; in the Realms, a sweet hand pie is a “tart” (tarts that have no crust on top are “fingertarts” for reasons now lost to time). |
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Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:45:47
On Alustriel's husband
ASH — 03/03/2023 11:35 AM
Hey @Ed Greenwood Ed, can you tell us what happened to Alustriel's husband, the father of the 12 Tall Ones who had the surname Aerasumé?
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 11:39 AM
That's Steven Schend's tale to tell. |
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Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:39:28
On the first god in the Toril pantheon invented
DMHWolf_Fzoul's my spirit animal — 03/02/2023 6:03 PM
Hola @Ed Greenwood quick question: what was the first god in the toril pantheon you invented. I’m meaning the first one that came solely from your dome, not ported/reskinned from other settings/mythologies :). Thanks for giving my brain somewhere to hang out #128578;
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 11:30 AM
Selûne, as my first “waking vision” of the Realms after the Storm harping by moonlight in the woods vision was another mysterious woman I didn’t know, a ghostly one (it was Saharel, though I didn’t know her name or background yet) looking up at the moon.
Was she praying?
Well, if she is, then I guess there’s a goddess of the moon.
What would such a goddess be like?
And so on… |
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Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:35:16
On paladin/sorcerer in Forgotten Realms
Gahbreeil — 03/03/2023 4:01 AM
@Ed Greenwood, one more question before I calm down. Has the dual class of paladin/sorcerer ever been explored in D&D and/or the Forgotten Realms? Any opinion about such class?
Sheepy — 03/03/2023 5:21 AM
@Gahbreeil Page 83 of the 3E City of Splendors: Waterdeep book: "Xale of the Starry Glen: Male aasimar paladin 6/sorcerer 5/Knight of the Blue Moon 5 (Mystra);" He's mentioned in other places in the book, too, but statted up on pages 83-4
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 11:03 AM
And Sheepy has already done the heavy lifting for me. (Thanks!)
So I’ll just add that this dual class IS rare, because folks who have an innate “wield the Art” Gift rarely have experiences in life that give the temperment to put up with paladin training (restrictions of faiths). |
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Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:15:15
On Corellon banning high magic
Hey @Ed Greenwood!
We were having a discussion over at #128218;realmslore about high magic and it came up that you said some time ago Corellon could ban some uses of it, like Mystra can do with the weave.
Does that mean that Corellon maintains a kind of "Weave" of some sort that elves use to cast high magic spells?
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 11:00 AM
No. It means that Corellon can block some uses of high magic, by arrangement with Mystra. For the same reasons: to stop mortals trying to upset the entire applecart, or oppress/slaughter lots of rival wielders of magic. |
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Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:13:01
On legitimising claim to Zhentil Keep
DMHWolf_Fzoul's my spirit animal — 02/26/2023 3:39 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood hope alls well in your corner of the world. Another zhentil keep question if I may. In around 1490DR as the zhentarim and survivor families (mention was made of turning non-survivors away in the darkhold book) reclaim parts of zhentil keep: what if someone has the appropriate paperwork to prove a descendent of a noble house from in Zhentil Keep (eg. Descendent of Chess, aumraeven, etc.) managed to reclaim an ‘ancestral’ holding from the ruins. Who would need to legitimise that claim in order for it to be ‘legit’?
Ed Greenwood — 03/03/2023 10:58 AM
“Might makes right” when it comes to the Zhentarim. So such a claim would only be considered lgit if the rebuilders felt like it. Which in turn means: if they think the “someone” will be a useful puppet or political front or tool, they will treat the claim with solemn honour. Otherwise, they’ll ignore it—and if the claim is then pushed, they’ll casually kill anyone doing the pushing. However, a descendant of Chess WOULD be useful in attracting “old Zhent money” back to the new Zhentil Keep out of nostalgia and respect, so as long as that descendant seems willing to “play along” with the ambitions, schemes, and investments of the rebuilders, their claim would be respected. Politely and respectfully. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:07:43
On the Lords Who Sleep
Lukas JP — 03/01/2023 9:31 PM
Hi @Ed Greenwood, wonderful idea with this Discord, so wonderful to meet and greet with other passionate Realmsians #128578; I have a bit of an odd question, but here goes:
Leaving aside their eventual fate in Beyond the High Road, I wondered if you could share some conceptual lore on the Lords Who Sleep? Did you have an ultimate 'purpose' or fate in mind for them when they were first created, that was never expressed in print?
Ed Greenwood — 03/02/2023 9:49 AM
Yes. However, it’s firmly NDA’d, I’m afraid. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:05:04
On the known whereabouts of any Nether Scrolls as of the 5e era
5eForechecker (Ruf) — 02/28/2023 7:04 PM
Friend Ed! Once again, I feel this question may fall under the NDA shadowlands, but I have to ask: can you tell us the known whereabouts of any Nether Scrolls as of the 5e era? Have any of them moved beyond the continent of Faerun?
Ed Greenwood — 03/01/2023 9:23 AM
You guess rightly: the whereabouts of any Nether Scroll is explicitly covered by no less than three NDAs. Wizards likes to keep those McGuffins on the down low. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 09:02:16
On Vecna's history Red Wizards, including Szass Tam, or the Shadovar
Ed Greenwood — 02/28/2023 2:15 PM
And an answer for YouTube, Ivan!
Vecna has no history with the Red Wizards, including Szass Tam, or the Shadovar, THAT THEY KNOW OF. The truth is that he’s been spying on them through undead and living agents for the last century, since the Spellplague shook things up and he first started really paying attention to their doings (for a time, he thought they were partially responsible for the Spellplague). But no, he hasn’t been fighting them or seeking alliances with them; Vecna lusts after power, and none of those groups or individuals are inclined to share. And Vecna thinks Szass Tam is a one-trick (that trick being creating undead loyal to him) incompetent; he’s not interested in having anything to do with Tam. (He may be wrong in that judgement.) Vecna is interested in the New Neverwinter conflict only insofar as what it might reveal about unusual or very powerful magic anyone involved has been keeping hidden until now (artifacts, for example).
And you’re very welcome! Realms forever! |
| questing gm |
Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 06:27:41
On what happens to failed paladin aspirants in the Forgotten Realms
Savn — 02/27/2023 10:07 AM
Greetings Ed! I was wondering what happens to failed paladin aspirants in the forgotten realms? Essentially those hopefuls and possible trainees by knightly organizations and goodly churches that for one reason or another fail to become paladins?
Ed Greenwood — 02/28/2023 9:36 AM
They usually become temple guards, or bodyguards for priests of high rank who must travel or appear in public in large cities.
Ed Greenwood — 03/10/2023 11:01 AM
It depends on how they fail. If it’s not a huge transgression, they simply become “holy knights” of the faith, much used as temple guards and bodyguards of high-ranking clerics, retaining their faith and their warrior skills, but not gaining the special abilities of a paladin. Some clerics will bestow spells on a holy knight to protect them, or so that the knight can cast them (a divine version of imbue with spell ability). |
| questing gm |
Posted - 26 Nov 2023 : 06:15:36
On Ed's preferred non-D&D RPG
Ratenef — 02/27/2023 1:38 AM
@Ed Greenwood First, thanks for all the amazing work you've done for DnD and the RPG community. Second, I was wondering if you ever play any RPGs other than DnD? If so, which ones are your preferred non Dnd RPGs?
Ed Greenwood — 02/27/2023 3:10 AM
I play a lot of RPGs, but very seldom these last few years because there's just no TIME. I'm not big on rules, as opposed to acting and storytelling, so it's the adventure chances I'm after. I also have to play lots of games for professional (design) reasons. Right now, I often play Fate Of The Norns (a Viking RPG designed by Andrew Valkauskas, of Pendelhaven Games, which uses runes rather than dice), and classically, I often played Call of Cthulhu (and Trail of Cthulhu, and Chill, and several other Cthulhu-related games), as well as a few Middle-Earth games systems. |
| questing gm |
Posted - 25 Nov 2023 : 08:04:42
On seeing Ed's original hand draw map
EvilDMForever — 02/27/2023 12:50 AM
Bonjour M. Greenwood, that was a great idea to create a patreon for the first fan of the Forgotten Realms! So now we may give you some gold pieces for your inspiration and creativity #128513;. I would love to see your original hand draw map. If possible. #9786;#65039; have a good day! (so not a question, but a requesting on dark hidden occult knowledge)...
Ed Greenwood — 02/27/2023 3:04 AM
TSR's coloured photocopy of my original map (except for my original Moonshaes) is on display on the ceiling of the Gamehole, at the Free House Pub in Middleton, Wisconsin (a superb restaurant/bar owned and run by my good friend Alex Kammer, who also helms the great GameholeCon!). Jay Scott (Lord Gosumba) does a regular mapping show with Anna Meyer, THE Greyhawk map artist, and there's an episode where Alyssa Faden and I joined them and we talked for hours about my original Realms maps (city and village and countryside maps, not just the "overview" map). My longtime friends Jeff Thetford and Curry Russell, who do the Mages and Sages podcast with me and a lot of the old-time Realms stalwarts, do contests where we give away photocopies of that original map (the same one TSR coloured) as prizes, so they're out there...and who knows, you could score one in an upcoming contest! |
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