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Demzer
Senior Scribe
877 Posts |
 Posted - 18 Jun 2022 : 18:03:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
interesting.... so Ao doesn't know and understand the realms... almost like his power is overblown.
Knowing and understanding something have nothing to do with power level. We've already seen his power level demonstrated.
A CEO doesn't need to understand what his workers do to be able to fire them.
And yet he had no understanding of why a previous god "died" ... and he's stating that "he just changed how the power dynamics work for gods"... so what exactly did he demonstrate versus what are we PERCEIVING he demonstratred based on his words. I mean, if he lied about just changing the rules for gods.... what else did he overblow about his own power level?
Again, he's demonstrated his power level. I don't understand this insistence that he's not all that powerful when we have seen that he is.
To be fair I would take it more as Ao having to remind the dieties (and actually tell the new ones) that they had to give at least half a rat's arse of consideration to their followers and worshipers.
In Faerun game canon, Ao is top dog period (at least since 2E's Faiths and Avatars) but he/she/it doesn't interact with mortals of the Prime. In Faerun novel canon, Ao has shown he/she/it can spank all deities at once and has appeared on Faerun at least once, to Elminster, to try and make him the new Mystra (can't remember the reference offhand).
So whatever the exact bounds of his/her/its power might be, Ao is (in both canons) able to run roughshod over the entire pantheon. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jun 2022 : 15:27:33
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On bridges into Crimmor from the north
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1538876142106689537
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1538877066896191493
Jun 20, 2022
@newbiedm
Ed, am I missing something? No word on whether there are bridges into Crimmor from the north, crossing the Alandor river. Lots of talk of barges.... Is that the only way in from the north? Does the Trade Way effectively stop on north shore of Alandor?
@TheEdVerse
It does. Crimmor is located precisely where it is because it grew from the "big muddy shore where all the barges and ferries are pulled up/loaded/unloaded." The soft river bottom makes bridgebuilding difficult/expensive, and currents make floating bridges impractical.
@newbiedm
So if you're headed in from the north? Pay a barge and hope for the best?
@TheEdVerse
Or take a long, long detour (usually upriver) to where there's a bridge or a safe ford. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2022 : 10:24:25
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On Gullykin near Durlag's Tower
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1539014058837524481
Jun 21, 2022
@CraigKVincent
Regarding Gullykin near Durlag's Tower; Volo claims its a Halfling town, FRCS 3e says Human/Gnome. Volo has more info so I prefer that, but do you have an opinion? I also put it 1/2 way between Durlags and Uldoon Trail, is that about right or is it closer to Durlags?
Durlag's Tower near the forest, Gullykin just west of Firewine Bridge ruins. Is that too far away?
<https://twitter.com/CraigKVincent/status/1538941164283432960/photo/1>
@TheEdVerse
Hi!
Gullykin is about 80 percent halflings, but several adventuring bands retired there to make wine and “trailmeet” and other agricultural products for a living, and some of their human and gnome members became envoys for the village and most of its ruling “Moot” (council of nine). Which led some outsiders to think Gullykin had become a human-and-gnome settlement. The truth: gnomes are about 6 percent of the population, and humans about 10 percent.
Your locations are good! One note: Durlag’s Tower stands in a lightly forested dell; what it’s close to it’s the edge of the dense main forest that hasn’t been logged “as long as anyone can remember” and is thick and nigh-trackless (impassable for wagons, riders who try to stay mounted, or any groups of folk trying to walk in any sort of formation). I say “nigh” because there ARE game-trails.
The countryside around Gullykin is gently-rolling farmland and ranchland, with plentiful springs and ponds, small woodlots everywhere, and a maze of winding dirt wagon-lanes (well signposted). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jun 2022 : 10:04:52
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On Dracohar
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1539273003522990081
Jun 21, 2022
@newbiedm
In a 4e era Dungeon Mag, @TheEdVerse introduced a new Forgotten Realms creature/race called a Dracohar, basically a humanoid with the head of a red dragon… i believe that was its one and only appearance in #dnd. Am I wrong?
@ItalianKarsus
I believe that... Actually answers a question of mine. There is one of two large pictures in Secrets of the Magister, FOR13, where one of the wizards involved in a large mage brawl is human other than their suspiciously draconic head. No Greater Dragonhead spell, so...?
@TheEdVerse
Well spotted! And there IS a spell that temporarily gives the caster (or recipient) a huge rack of antlers plus the neck muscles to use them and alter head appearance, and THAT is behind all the "stag headed" casters who appear in Realmslore. Hides the dragon head.
Congrats to you both for stumbling on a hidden-in-plain-sight little mystery of the Realms. (Are the dracohar up to anything collectively? If so, what? How numerous and widespread are they?) I crammed the Realms full of these; interesting to see how and when they get noticed. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2022 : 13:02:09
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On Earth City corresponding to Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1539733514870038528
Jun 23, 2022
@talonvamp64
Dear Mr. Greenwood, what Earth City corresponds to Waterdeep?
@TheEdVerse
I don't put real-world analogues into the Realms, but Waterdeep is a crossroads cosmopolitan trading port, that dominates its hinterland/is a "gateway," based around a superb natural harbor.
So it functions like medieval London, England, but is unlike it in geography. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2022 : 13:53:06
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On Volo's low levels
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1540797820336209921
Jun 26, 2022
@Razzelmire
There a reason Volothamp is so low level? Last stats we had was 2E and he was 5th-level Wizard. Now in 5e he's 1st-level Wizard. I'd say maybe he got hit by lots of level drains, but post-3e that's no longer the case. How is he so weak at this point?
@TheEdVerse
Volo has spent three LONG stretches of time in stasis (often as a garden ornament).
He's also lazy rather than an adventurer or a student of magic (no spell experimentation).
Once he was notorious, others deliberately kept spell tomes and scrolls away from him. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2022 : 10:00:48
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On Mystra's essence as a human deity
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1541248274740527104
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1541438733169442816
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1541942826069630979
Jun 27, 2022
@NuU9LPMKHWV36no
Excuse me. Someone told me that "Goddess of Magic is in essence a human deity. She was created by worship. Mortals' worship personified the Weave, that's how her born." Is he right?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, he is.
@NuU9LPMKHWV36no
Thanks for reply me. I remembered she is the most powerful deity of Realms expect http://AO.Is this still true?
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Clergies like to portray "their" god as most powerful, but as almost all magic use in the world runs through Mystra and strengthens her thereby, she really is.
@Mahtan87
"She was created by worship" how does that effect the creation myth for Mystral, and would that mean Mystra only came about after Mystrals fall because humans worshiped her?
@TheEdVerse
It means that Mystra, the successor to Mystryl, took the form she did because of mortal worship...not that Mystral was created by worship. (So it doesn't affect the creation myth for Mystryl at all.)
Edited on 28/6/2022 to add new tweet
Edited on 29/6/2022 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 29 Jun 2022 13:09:38 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2022 : 13:14:04
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On Dwarrowdeep in Forgotten Realms
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1541946650662420480
Jun 29, 2022
@roguecaliber
I suppose it's a pretty easy question since the Realms have so many Dwarven ruins but where would you put Dwarrowdeep, @TheEdVerse?
@TheEdVerse
There are many good candidate sites, but what's needed is a big mountain range (big enough to host SPOILER lairs) with habitable countries on either side of it (at least one of which has a nearby-to-a-Dwarrowdeep-entrance village or hamlet), and SPOILER as dwarves.
Because of all the extensive dwarven lorework Realms sages Eric L. Boyd and George Krashos have done, plus the efforts of Jeff Thetford, I would probably avoid the Heartlands and Sword Coast North and Moonsea North in favour of more easterly and southerly sites.
The Snowflake Mountains in eastern Amn or the Orsraun Mountains in Turmish if you want to keep it close to the Sword Coast, though I'd likely be looking to the Copper Mountains nigh Murghôm or the Smoking Mountains or nigh Ulgarth, myself.
To put it in the areas I called out as likely avoiding (2#, above), I'd need to revamp the dwarven clan lore in Dwarrowdeep to match some of the lost and fallen dwarf clans of the Realms I mentioned in DWARVES DEEP. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2022 : 13:21:40
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On gnome words for the Trail of Mists
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1541954060697407488
Jun 29, 2022
@the_iriaeben
Greetings, good sir. I want to use the elven/gnome created portal system known as the Trail of Mists. Can you provide some words gnomes would use in reference to it?
@TheEdVerse
Sure!
To gnomes, a known route is a “thaunr.” [pronounced “THAWN-urr”]
A gate (portal) is a “duklim.” (lim [pronounced “leem”] = magic + “dukl” = step/stride [“duk” is boot, and is pronounced “duck-h”]
A linked series of portals (a portal system) is a “duklimaunr.” [pronounced “duck-LEEM-on-urr”]
To use (step through/traverse) portals is “duklimduk” [pronounced “duck-LEEM-duck”]
So if a gnome wanted to say “She walked the portals,” they’d say “Maran duklimduk” [“maran” = she, “daran” = he]
A (surface) trail is a “lurthaun.” [A surface road is an “athurr.”]
Mists are “bluth” [fog or opaque, persistent mist is “obluth,” overcast is “oblann,” a cloud is an “oblass” and clouds are “oblassan”]
So if a gnome translating “Trail of Mists” literally into Gnomish would say “Lurthaun ar Bluth.” [ar = of]
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2022 : 16:14:55
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On Ehlonna in Toril
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1542299334234066945
Jun 30, 2022
@Dennis_G_Link
Wait if @TheEdVerse says Ehlonna is on Toril then I say that means she's on Toril. Mielikki might be more wildly worshiped but Ehlonna is still there. Plus the Mielikki text in 3.0 even has an editing mistake that says Ehlonna in it
@Artie_Pavlov
Ed said deities of one worshiped in the other. Not sure that would qualify as a connection unless Wd explicitly says she is worshiped on Toril.
@TheEdVerse
Twitter won't let me reply to @Dennis_G_Link or @Artie_Pavlov directly, so:
Ehlonna's worshippers are in the Realms, but the goddess is not. Mielikki answers their prayers. And the two deities put their (bare) feet up and catch up over oakroot tea often. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2022 : 16:22:06
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On Blackfeather Bridge map in the Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1542317457356034049
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1542320877701824515
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1542514515765391363
Jun 30, 2022
@rpg20com
Hi @TheEdVerse! Back in the late 90s, the Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas had this map as belonging to Blackfeather Bridge. It would be updated 6 months later with a smaller one that actually depicts the River Ashaba. But... which location is this one? Do you happen to know?
@TheEdVerse
That’s a map of a RenFaire on real-world Earth (hence “Bravo Country” and having a “War Museum” and the misspelled “Cemetary”) that a mischievous Elminster inserted because something secret to the faithful of Mystra (the creation of a Weavegate or portal, leading to a hidden safehold) was going on in the real Blackfeather Bridge at the time, and he didn’t want a “real” map to get out there that wouldn’t match what folks found “on the ground” if they visited Blackfeather Bridge—which would reveal the gate.
Elminster did tell me that The Happy Sheep is called that because they took lamb off the menu when the new cook took over the place, but that you should NEVER order the “pickle beer” they serve there. “Truly vile,” he termed it. “Like the bladder-voidings of an old, sick horse. So of course Volo will recommend it.”
Sorry, that should read "Bravo Company." I have to remember that idiots sneak autocorrect into many corners of software these days, and none of it works. Sigh.
@rpg20com
Thanks for taking the time! Give my regards to Elminster as well.
@TheEdVerse
I shall. He's in a good mood tonight. He found my old Game of Thrones beer. It's gone off, but apparently the result is very like some of the brews of rural Athalanatar, from his youth.
Vile voidings, indeed.
@LeCraftator
@TheEdVerse this is the first time I hear of a Weavegate. Is that just another name for a portal, or are there any meaningful differences between the two?
@TheEdVerse
A Weavegate does the same thing as a portal, but if you know how to navigate the Weave, can take you to ANY other existing gate the Weave reaches, not a set destination gate.
Stepping through one imparts a sensation of gently falling through a glowing blue void.
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2022 : 16:27:30
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Phantom on The Ghostwalk in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1542516491450322945
Jun 30, 2022
@John_Hasznosi
Hi ed. In Volo's (Waterdeep), you mention a phantom on The Ghostwalk (page 67). He struck me as being very similar to Strahd. Just coincidence?
@TheEdVerse
Just coincidence. I first created that noble for a short story in 1967 (7 years before D&D and 17 years before Strahd's first appearance in print). He's "one way in" to an old murder mystery involving several Waterdhavian noble families (NDA because TSR Had Plans). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2022 : 03:19:56
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On Undermountain's real world age
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543271056387018754
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543641181900488706
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543644555974787073
Jul 3, 2022
@scrollforinit
Was reading this morning about the real-world history of Undermountain. Did you know that @TheEdVerse started thinking about Halaster's megadungeon FIFTY-FIVE years ago?
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes, I know that all too well. ;} Fifty-six years now, being as we're out of June.
You can tell by looking at my face. But only if you know I was beautiful back then.
@scrollforinit
How much have Undermountain and Halaster changed from your original conception of them?
@TheEdVerse
As I’ve been involved in all of the published forays into Undermountain, it hasn’t changed much at all. Lots not covered, particularly in the lower levels, and Dave Sutherland’s Empire of the Petal Throne campaign map fitted around the tiny slice of my original that was used for the first level (at the bottom of the shaft from the Yawning Portal), but otherwise, spot-on (the really early cartridge computer games being an exception). Halaster has expanded greatly from my original conception of him, but the core concept has remained, so for him it’s more development than change.
@scrollforinit
It's pretty cool that the oldest dungeon in the game (I think?) has barely changed in more than five decades. Thank you for creating it and sharing it with the world!
@TheEdVerse
You're very welcome! There are many older published dungeons, but Undermountain was around fictionally, in my Realms short stories, a decade before D&D, so in another sense it's a founding dungeon. We all bow to Professor Tolkien, of course.
- Edited on 4/7/2022 to add new tweets. |
Edited by - questing gm on 04 Jul 2022 03:01:29 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2022 : 03:25:25
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On the Wingless Wonder (and how the Company of Crazed Venturers met them)
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543271977212854275
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543273441452761089
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543278187886542848
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543635167159410689
Jul 3, 2022
@FilbiPott
wish I knew the creative process behind this... *fascinating* specimen by @TheEdVerse in Dragon Magazine #40
<https://twitter.com/FilbiPott/status/1543097146169344000/photo/1>
<https://twitter.com/FilbiPott/status/1543097146169344000/photo/2>
@TheEdVerse
The comical, "innocuous" Wingless Wonder was a creature that saw print without its crucial final paragraph: that turning an enemy wizard or rebel noble/throne claimant into one was a favourite tactic of mages in the Realms, so a lot of Wonders were trapped humans.
@FilbiPott
Thank you!
@TheEdVerse
The Company of Crazed Venturers met 3 Wonders. The first bewildered them; they avoided it and shut a door so it couldn't follow. The other two they restored to human shape, and ended up with a rich grateful noble rewarding them, and a dangerous mad wizard as an ally.
@FilbiPott
This is my first time hearing about the Company but looking them up I'm fascinated.
@TheEdVerse
They were my first PC band, and the first explorers of Undermountain and dwellers in Waterdeep. Played by stalwarts whose demand for reality and detail (and "honest day jobs" as well as adventuring) led to the Realms being as detailed as it is.
@GusLee52818120
How you restore them, if they radiate anti-magic?
@TheEdVerse
There are certain gates (portals) and wild magic nodes and altars, as well as moonwells, whose magic strips all of that way and restores true shapes/forms. The trick is getting the wonders to them.
- Edited on 4/7/2022 to add new tweet. |
Edited by - questing gm on 04 Jul 2022 02:57:08 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2022 : 03:09:37
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On level of wizard to create, adjust or change a mythal
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543636534913601538
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543636943887601664
@MarteloBlack
·
What level would a wizard have to be to create a mythal? Would they have to be of the same level to adjust or change it?
@DMCas3
Looking over past editions there are a few commonalities:
- They require multiple wizards to create.
- They take a very long time to make.
- They require high level magic.
- If the tiniest thing goes wrong, it is catastrophic.
A few options you could think of emulating or using:
Look at spells like Guards & Wards, Temple or Gods, etc. They utilize repeated casting over a given period to create a permanent effect. You could use a similar function.
Look at them as simply a magic item that has a really long crafting time with rigorous requirements.
Considering components:
#8259;Mythals often have a core - in the case of High Elven Mythals it is often the body and soul of the lead caster. So, keep that in mind.
#8259;5th edition doesn’t have epic spells currently, and Mythals in 3.5 required the Mythal spell seed.
I’d suggest, if you have players wanting to create one, decide if they are making a Wizard Mythal or a High Elven one. If it is a High Elven one, I’d suggest having the caster track down a Selu’kiira (High Elven Lore Gem) that might contain the necessary knowledge.
As for manipulating a Mythal, most were keyed specifically to certain magical objects and only the wielder could manipulate them. But, anyone with knowledge and the object could manipulate it. To safely do it, I’d suggest a 3rd or 4th tier wizard. I hope this all helps!
@TheEdVerse
@DMCas3 has covered the topic masterfully. The core thing is that most mythals required the sacrifice of the key caster: their body and soul were subsumed, and they exist as a sentience in the muthal (akin to "a voice in the Weave").
If your multiple casters were learned enough in mythal lore AND CASTING EXPERIENCE, and powerful enough, they could all give a part of themselves to fashion a "dumb" mythal (so all lose levels, hp, etc.), but this has always been rare. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2022 : 03:15:14
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On the animals and inhabitants of the Wall of Halruaa mountain range
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543640328888061953
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543643912966914051
Jul 4, 2022
@aerothgow
Hello! Can you tell us more about the animals and inhabitants of the Wall of Halruaa mountain range ? I could not find any information about them in the old books.
@TheEdVerse
A good place to start is the Mountains volume of the Amarune's Almanacs from Vorpal Dice Press (principal designer: Steve Fidler) at the DM's Guild. Some Wall specifics are NDA, I'm afraid, but I can reveal that the largest known populations of Galeb Duhr are there.
@aerothgow
I have the book but I just did not think to look into it. I was just searching the old 2e and 3e books. Thank you!
@TheEdVerse
There's very little published about Halruaa, at first because high magic = let's avoid, and then to let Elaine Cunningham have as free a hand as possible when writing her trilogy set there. I have more in my original notes, so someday...if I EVER have the time... |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2022 : 03:19:25
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On insurance in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543642662850510851
Jul 4, 2022
@dmrob3
Hi @TheEdVerse! A group of adventurers in Waterdeep are about to do something which has prompted me to ask you - does insurance exist in Waterdeep/the realms as a whole? #129315;P.S.Thank you for creating this wonderful world for us all to explore.
@TheEdVerse
You’re very welcome!
“Insurance” in Waterdeep, and to a lesser extent all over the Heartlands and along the Sword Coast trade routes, exists as “performance bonds” = written, witnessed-at-a-temple (often Waukeen) contracts that set forth a sum payable by one specific party to another if something specific happens (limb lost, specific person slain, particular item or building destroyed). Moneylenders and some guilds offer them—and increasingly, governments/rulers, to adventurers or costers or guilds willing to undertake something risky on behalf of that ruler. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jul 2022 : 03:22:59
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On the Red Wizards' only humans membership in post Spellplague/Upheaval era
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1543966615489978369
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1544339055298625536
Jul 4, 2022
@forestsfailyou
Post spellplague/ear of upheaval do the red wizards still *only* accept humans or can anyone join now?
@TheEdVerse
See pages 16-18 of THAY: LAND OF THE RED WIZARDS.
"In infancy, every Thayan resident, citizens and visitors alike," gets tested by Red Wizards to see if they possess the Gift to practice magic. So, any race. Please note: "The chief fear of all Red Wizards is unrecognized, potentially hostile wizards or sorcerers of power dwelling in Thay, in their very midst."
So if you're known to be an arcane spellcaster, it's be accepted, or get out of Thay, or die.
It's never a case of "I think I'll join the Red Wizards. Seems like an attractive career path!"
@vengeful_jarl
But they usually only train their own people though correct? In Thay at least.
@TheEdVerse
Yes. Even among the non-strong xenophobes, there's suspicion of non-Thayans (so it's hard for them to get training or gain offices of any power). Outlanders are usually thought of as "must be a visiting merchant" (or a slave).
- Edited on 6/7/2022 to add new tweet |
Edited by - questing gm on 05 Jul 2022 17:32:56 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jul 2022 : 17:33:57
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On rebuilding Tilverton
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1544706773466103810
Jul 6, 2022
@Artie_Pavlov
To illustrious @TheEdVerse. Why they never rebuilt tilverton? Seems suspicious.
@TheEdVerse
Oh, good. It's supposed to.
;}
(Serious reply coming in a day or two. NDAs to dodge.) |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2022 : 14:17:15
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On novels to read for Dragon Heist
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1548135784745537536
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1548136412217634817
@Jeff_P_Simms
I'm getting ready to run Dragon Heist, are their any other books you would recommend reading first?
@TheTryxie
This book (City of Splendors) is definitely inspiring. One that was a must for me for my campaign was the sourcebook Sword Coast Adventurer's guide (and it's good for so many other campaigns). Outside of the D&D world, I'd recommend you good heist stories, such as The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, and the Ocean 11 movie!
Have you started reading the module? Did you chose during what season the story will occur?
@Jeff_P_Simms
Thanks, I will at least read the novel and I have the Sword Coast Adventurer's guide. I have read the first section, but I haven't gotten to far in yet. As for the season, I am thinking spring, but I kinda want to make Volo the villain in the end.
@TheEdVerse
Heh. You've realized what far too few do: Volo is ALWAYS the villain. ;}
Sometimes unwitting, but...
Seriously: if you want a novel to read to get a feel for Waterdeep in the Dragon Heist era, try The God Catcher by Erin Evans or Death Masks by me.
And for a few decades earlier: The City of the Dead by Rosemary Jones or Downshadow by Erik Scott de Bie. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2022 : 14:20:33
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On Leilon's average temperature range
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1548491737693229056
@seananmcguire
Does anyone know the average temperature range in Leilon? The Sword Coast appears to be fairly Newfoundland-y, but I need to try to figure out the growing zone.
@TheEdVerse
Hi! Leilon averages the equivalent of a real-world Zone 4 (5 in harsh winters, as warm as 3a in warm summers).
Lady fair, I'm here for all your #Realmslore needs. :} |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2022 : 11:50:25
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On suitable for a Wild West/Frontier style of questing, with the gold rush being Netheresian artificers
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1549036211078975488
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1549257550226407425
@TheLBX
Hey @TheEdVerse, just wanted to know more about Anauroch. Would this be suitable for a Wild West/Frontier style of questing, with the gold rush being Netheresian artificers.
If not, any suggestions on where would be a good fit for this in Forgotten Realms? Thanks in advance.
@TheEdVerse
Many places (Semphar, the Plains of Purple Dust) can be alternatives, but southernmost Anauroch (see FR13) is suitable for Wild West (going N, there's a too-dry/hot band, then a stone&no water band, then a frigid ice desert).
@TheLBX
Thanks so much! Possibly looking at having the Zhentarim attempting to establish a Lightning Rail system (similar to that from the Eberron setting) through the region. Would that be something the Zhentarim would attempt?
@TheEdVerse
Certainly. They're trying to get a shorter, faster, cheaper bulk goods shipping route linking them on the north shore of the Moonsea with the Sword Coast, and reliable rail would cut down on "keeping pack animals alive in the desert." Actual rails buckle and twist in high heat if they're metal, and blowing sand threatens any railed system (derailments/burying the rails) so Zhent magelings will be kept busy with spells dealing with such problems. Meaning they'll be making constant patrols (= being targets).
This notion was discussed in-house at TSR, back in the day: various things the Zhents might try for goods transport (I'd already stressed the unreliability of gates/portals for bulk transport, to explain why it hadn't been done from ancient times onward). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2022 : 11:59:17
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On golem legs
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1549036618710798337
Jul 18, 2022
@Gregzilla01
In your opinion, must golems have legs/feet? Or can their bottom parts be roiling masses? Or would that make them elementals?
@TheEdVerse
Golems need to have legs that end in enough to balance on, but that could be flared-base stumps rather than feet. Perhaps limited-amorphous move-and-reform masses, but “roiling” implies more volatility than fits with the golem enchantment (immutable form). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2022 : 12:33:29
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On a hypothetical war by Szass Tam
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1549134825126330413
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1549878313342173188
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1551620201812197378
Jul 19, 2022
@DmTemujin
@TheEdVerse picture if you will, the Princes of Murghom being coerced into waging war with Thay. Chromatic and Metallic dragons take flight fighting as allies for "the greater good" to stop the armies of Szass Tam. The Simbul stricken mad, finds clarity to warn Laeral of calamity
@TheEdVerse
The Princes are the main reason Szass Tam hasn't (with endless undead armies available to him) embarked on an empire-building war of conquest: he isn't quite insane enough to take on ALL of Mulhorand, Rashemen, and Aglarond when Murghôm, Unther and Thesk are watching.
@ZeromaruX
Is Unther that powerful nowadays, tho?
@TheEdVerse
It's not the power of any one foe, it's the "war on far too many fronts" peril. Szass Tam is a many-times-over failure, so he's insecure, and he KNOWS (from past experience with Aglarond and with Rashemen) that even a weaker foe can occupy and "pin" his forces-- as others charge in to raid or full-scale invade the rest of unprotected Thay. Yes, he can let that happen and rule the undead left behind when Thay has fallen and been depopulated...but he knows how hollow that will feel. AND fears dracoliches will be busily installed by a certain Cult.
And, deep down, he fears what alliances the Princes (the dragon rulers) may have made, and that he can't even handle THEM. After all, if he displeases Mystra further and she sends Chosen to battle him over the Athora at just the wrong-for-him time...
This is the situation of most rulers in the Realms. The interconnectedness of all things weighs heavily on their minds when they contemplate sending armies on the march. What if I...? Wouldn't a few adventurers sent to assassinate, that I can plausibly deny, be better? ;}
And as much as Tam may dismiss and despise them, there ARE Thayans in exile, Red Wizards or mages powerful enough to wear the Red, who hate him (see the recent Thay book I did with @GHC_and_Tacos and @warfteiner) and are lurking...
@DmTemujin
IIRC Unther was stripped from Toril during the Spellplague then returned reborn under the Supreme Ruler Gilgeam, so in my opinion, Mulhorand does not have a foothold on that space. @TheEdVerse may be able to clarify better.
@ZeromaruX
I'm aware. However, if you read the sources, current day Unther is just the ruins of Unthalass with a population less than 100k "true" Untherans, and a percentage of them are rebels who oppose Gilgeam. Unther isn't a military power to be feared, at least not currently.
@TheEdVerse
True. However, if they learned that Thay was beset by the armies of all the lands surrounding her, it would be a dandy opportunity to raid, through Nethjet or Bezantur. Tam's problem remains: too many foes to take on all at once, and he knows it.
- Edited on 21/7/2022 to add new tweets
- Edited on 26/7/2022 to add new tweets |
Edited by - questing gm on 26 Jul 2022 10:48:50 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jul 2022 : 10:01:42
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On earth motes in Waterdeep
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1549551817415184392
Jul 20, 2022
@Dryl
Hello! Please could you tell me if there are any earth motes floating around/above Waterdeep?
@TheEdVerse
There are not. The Mage of Waterdeep and the Lords like to keep the airspace clear (and the noble houses and guilds would all want to control a mote, against their rival houses and guilds). There WAS a cloud castle recently (see DEATH MASKS and STORM KING'S THUNDER). |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2022 : 10:27:15
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On accent of Common
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1550308353066369025
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1550308852691787776
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1550690275667869697
Jul 22, 2022
@dookdookzapzap
Hi @TheEdVerse !
Just watched the trailer for the new D&D film, it got me thinking.
I imagine common to be British sounding but in the trailer they have American accents
Are the accents in the trailer are how you imagine common in the FR? Or would you have done it differently?#128512;
@TheEdVerse
I've always imagined Common to have "light" English accents. Such as heard here...
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quSXoj8Kob0>
Yet Common all over the Realms is going to have many accents, being as those speaking it hail from so many different places. Clarity for a listening audience, and the characters sounding different from each other, are paramount.
@dookdookzapzap
Thank you for your valuable insight!
If you are still in the mood for indulging a fan...do you have any examples of which places have which different accents in your version of the Realms? :D
@TheEdVerse
No. I never think of the Realms in terms of real-world analogies, echoes, or equivalents, so when I describe accents, it's in terms of pitch, timbre, and vowel sounds, not "this place is like this real-world area."
- Edited on 23/7/2022 to add new tweets |
Edited by - questing gm on 23 Jul 2022 07:59:21 |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2022 : 10:31:04
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On prevalence of familiars
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1550312344714182656
Jul 22, 2022
@TokakuT
Hey @TheEdVerse, a question concerning familiars I have for you. How prevelent are the companions in the realms? Does every mage have one? What about famous Mages like Elminster and the Simbul? Do they? And if so, what/who are they?
@TheEdVerse
No, every mage doesn't have one. In fact, over the last century, they've increasingly been "going out of fashion." Elminster or other Chosen wouldn't take a familiar, as they'd see it as a death sentence for the familiar (target) and a vulnerability for themselves. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jul 2022 : 03:04:29
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On Ed's map of Whisper's Crypt
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1550995837785935873
Jul 24, 2022
@CandlekeepSite
A small #Candlekeep site update today, specifically including @TheEdVerse's map of Whisper's Crypt. Sent in by @EricLoganBoyd. https://bit.ly/3cGOpFi
@TheEdVerse
One thing I never got around to saying, amid the hilarity of the podcast, was that I had two objectives for the kobold stronghold that got torpedoed in the published module because of the wordcount cutback.
One: I wanted to provide a DM with a clear look at what a stable, established, long-running kobold community was like (what they did in daily life, where the food came from and the poop went to, what their aims were, what trade goods and hunting and gathering expeditions they went on, etc.) so kobolds could become a fully-realized "social" race in the Realms (so, an "ecology of"), AND if the PCs do end up in possession of the stronghold...ooh, they have an ideal (detailed in print) base/hideout in the Stonelands to explore it or participate in Cormyr-based careers. |
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Ed Greenwood on Twitter
