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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1840 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Jan 2026 : 08:49:43
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On followers of Mystra who died during the Time of Troubles and the Spellplague
Bladesinger Lily Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 18/1/2026 10:50 PM
Hale and well met Saer @Ed Greenwood …
a newer player asked a question that I couldn’t particularly sort out. What happened to wizards and other followers of Mystra who died during the time of troubles and the Spellplague wirh no goddess to claim them? Were they all automatically doomed to the Wall?
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 21/1/2026 3:37 AM
The Time of Troubles and the far-longer-drawn-out Spellplague both generated periods of what some sages call the Time(s) of Wandering Souls. The souls of the dead drifted everywhere, many becoming trapped in mythals, wards, magic items, and other magical entanglements they encountered randomly. Some were reincarnated in the bodies of other creatures, a few in the mind-shattered bodies of other (formerly sentient) spellcasters. Some are still wandering. No one was “automatically doomed” to any fate. Mystra died, but her preparations for her foreseen-by-her demise meant that the Weave went wild, but did not “go down” or fade away.
So for a specific soul, their fate is whatever an individual player, DM, or taleteller needs it to be. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1840 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2026 : 09:14:44
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On the external roads of Silverymoon go
seemingly_cleverRole icon, Scribe of the Realms — 21/1/2026 5:56 AM
I concur with the Lady Bladesinger! :elminster_heart: Your answers are as illuminating as ever, Saer @Ed Greenwood of the Greenwood! #128154;
If I may ask once more about Silverymoon: where do all of its external roads go, and what are their names? We know the Silver Road goes to Sundabar (presumably departing Sundabar gate) and that the northeastern path from the Moorgate leads to the Herald’s Holdfast. What of the path along the Rauvin, or up northwards through the Hunters’ Gate? The northeastern path? There’s also, by the late 13th-century DR, the New Gate (later replaced by Blacklar Gate and Mulgate) of Southbank.
I’m curious, given how overland maps tend to simply show two paths — eastward, down Silverymoon Pass, and southward, to Everlund — in contrast to the more detailed city map. :elmwow:
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 21/1/2026 10:58 AM
Okay, here we go (the countryside around Silverymoon can be most clearly and accurately seen on the Mike Schley map of The Silver Marches, from the WotC Encounter “The War of Everlasting Darkness”...this map can be seen on Mike's website, in the regional maps portfolio):
Northbank, W to E:
Moorgate: Rauvin Road, runs NW along the north bank of the Rauvin to Rivermoot, where the River Rauvin joins the River Surbrin. (A sideroad, the Moonwood Trail or Moonrun, branches off to Herald’s Holdfast W of Rauvinwatch Keep.)
Hunter’s Gate: Hunter’s Road, runs N, curving NW, then splits: W trail to the Herald’s Holdfast, NE trail into the Moonlands up the E side of The Glimmerwood, crossing the Rider Redrun to curve back E and split again, N branch running NE through the Cold Vale,and S branch winding through the western foothills of the Rauvin Mountains and Citadel Felbarr, before crossing the Redrun again and running through Sundabar Vale to Sundabar
Sundabar Gate: Silver Road, runs through Khelb and Silverymoon Pass to Sundabar
Southbank, W to E:
Blacklar Gate: Blacklar Road, used to run to the long-burnt-down hamlet of Blacklar, still runs to its site: SW from the city to a trailmoot at former Blacklar site, where the trail splits to run W along the S side of the River Rauvin, to the West Rauvinbank farms, and the other leg of the trail runs S along the S bank of the Rauvin, to the South Rauvinbank farms, both sets of farms in the cleared land between the River Rauvin and The Silverwood
Mulgate: Ever Road, runs SE to the westernmost Nether Hills (old copper, tin, and zinc mines) then winds S through them, staying east of the River Rauvin, to Everlund |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1840 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2026 : 09:29:18
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On conditional demipowers a god can maintain
Zonesylvania
Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 23/1/2026 2:08 AM
dear saer @Ed Greenwood , around how many conditional demipowers (saints, demigods, chosen, exarchs, etc.) can a god afford to maintain depending on their divine power? does it increase linearly or exponentially depending on divine standing? thankee!
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 23/1/2026 9:49 AM
The number of entities a deity can maintain as loyal, linked-to-them demipowers (as opposed to imparting spells to clerics in response to prayers, or one-time imbuement of magic into mortals (“miracles”) varies with four variables:
- The power level of the diety (greater, lesser, etc.)
- How much power they infuse into each servitor (“superhero Chosen versus one-trick Chosen”).
- Their own sanity/nature/multitasking ability.
- Current workload: what else are they doing with their power? How many mythals/wards/holy areas/etc. are they maintaining, and in what strength.
So the “quick answer” is: around 6 powerful servitors (superhero Chosen) for a lesser/middle-rank deity, and around 9 for a greater deity
Modified by nature, so in the Realms, Mystra gets more, and so does Chauntea (the land used by sentient worshippers, so she’s “everywhere”), Shar, and Selûne.
A 5e quasi-deity may only be able to “maintain” one servitor and imbue one other mortal at a time.
Another way of looking at this is: manifestations.
Meaning, how many different locales can a deity manifest in (for example, Lathander appearing as a rosy glow in the air, music, and perhaps his voice), or mortals they can talk to, either out of thin air or in the minds of, at once.
These are usually IN ADDITION TO the number of servitors, etc., and starts at 2 for a quasi-deity, 4 for a lesser deity, and 7 for a greater deity. Again, Mystra and Chauntea and Shar and Selûne get more. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1840 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2026 : 09:51:12
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On other slices of Silverymoon
seemingly_clever Role icon, Scribe of the Realms — 23/1/2026 12:18 PM
Alright, alright @Ed Greenwood, you've twisted my arm! I'll keep hounding you about the Gem of the North! I'm just kidding, this is how I have fun. ^_^ I found your series of articles, "My Slice of Silverymoon", to be absolutely fantastic. I especially enjoyed getting a sense of Hollowhar's identity and of the community of people living in that particular corner of the city. Would you find it in your hearts (and, perhaps, in your notes) to share some more about the communities in other slices of the city? Where they're located (i.e., which blocks), some element of their shared character, and the like — almost akin to the various wards of Waterdeep, though surely not so set in stone.
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — 23/1/2026 1:42 PM
Heh. Sure, but when I have the time. That's crucial; I have sixteen major active projects going right now, and a day job, and family and friend obligations. Some lore queries are small in scale and I can answer them quickly; others take longer because of NDAs or because I need to find old notes, and some are more heavy-duty and will take still longer. This is one of them; I have wanted to share more of Silverymoon for some years, but haven't yet found the time. Just like Waterdeep, and Suzail, and dozens of other locales. So if you don't mind waiting, I love doing this, and will, if mischance doesn't take me first, get to it. If you don't mind piecemeal dolings out of lore, I can share some stuff much sooner. :} |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1840 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2026 : 12:04:40
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On Thadanthiir's Bridge in Silverymoon
GAMEtatron Role icon, Patron of The Realms — 25/1/2026 6:56 AM
Hi Ed!
In My Slice of Silverymoon, part 1:
We learn that in 631 DR, the Granitefang Orcs invaded Silverymoon, apparently through Hunter's Gate, but they were turned back after having breached the city. Or maybe the orcs breeched the walls, given that the guards air out their silken underthings on the Westwatch Gate Tower. #128516;
Anyway, the orcs were apparently defeated at Thadanthiir's Bridge.
Is Thadanthiir's Bridge in Silverymoon, and if so, where?
Thank you!
Ed Greenwood Role icon, Father of the Realms — Yesterday at 5:11 AM
Just upstream (east, towards Everlund) of Striding Giant Rapids on the River Rauvin, there’s a bridge across the river. (It’s clearly shown, just beside the “Striding Giant Rapids” tag, on the Mike Schley map of The Silver Marches, from the WotC Encounter “The War of Everlasting Darkness,” …this map can be seen on Mike's website, in the regional maps portfolio.)
That’s Thadanthiir’s Bridge, named for the dwarf who led the team of dwarves that built the bridge (in the early 500s DR, to take heavy wagons of metal ingots from the then-busy Nether Mines south overland to Sword Coast markets). The Bridge is three wagons wide, of stone, and can take the weight of armies—as was proven in the early spring of 631 DR when the Granitefang orcs moved on from then-unwalled but fiercely-defended (by humans hurling spells the orcs liked not at all) Silverymoon town, to try to raid Everlund.
The orcs (who’d been raiding the fast-growing settlement of Silverymoon for more than a decade, preferring to attack by night in bad weather, so defenders couldn’t see their true numbers and precisely where they were—and on this occasion had gotten far down several streets before they encountered hasty wagon barricades that forced them into houses to fight, where the human defenders quickly turned the tide) sought food more than anything else, after a harsh winter.
The orc plan was to send a small force to assault Everlund (which was smaller and more lightly defended than Silverymoon, with more gardens, fields, woodlots, and “open ground to move in” within the settlement) from the north, and draw defenders there—and then with their main strength charge into Everlund from the rear, or south, after having outflanked Everlund by crossing Thadanthiir’s Bridge.
Unfortunately for the orcs, they were caught on the bridge by a force of elven archers who’d been heading for the Silverwood on a periodic “clean out the trolls and worse” foray (so the woods would be safe encampment and hunting territory for elves coming to Silverymoon and Everlund to trade, or to tarry and “stop the most stonebrained human woodcutters from taking every last tree”).
The archers were astonished to see what seemed to them to be an orc horde racing south. They loosed their shafts at will into the massed, trapped orcs, and wiped out all the Granitefangs there, then pursued the few who fled to the skirmish on the north side of Everlund.
Only handfuls of Granitefangs got away from this great slaughter.
The battle-leader of their raiding force, Thulgrod, died on the bridge with three of his five sons.
(So, no, the orcs didn’t get through Hunter’s Gate, because it didn’t exist yet. Nor did any city walls. Silverymoon was still an unwalled “Northbank” town at the time.)
Thulgrod was a battered old veteran orc war-leader, BTW, world-wise and cynical and revered by orcs of several tribes.
His surviving sons begat descendants the Sword Coast North has heard of, notably a great-great-grandson Thulgrar, a widely-traveled adventurer who forayed with human, elf, half-elf, halfling, and dwarf sword-companions.)
(Heh. I'd no idea I had so much in my old notes. Thulgrar had quite a career.) |
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Ed Greenwood from Greenwood's Grotto
