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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Oct 2019 : 02:56:29
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On Ed's original vision of the Outer Planes and the gods:
Oct 4, 2019
@AdamDravian
Hey Ed, in your original gods article (Dragon #54), you said you wanted all of the outer planes to have ruling deities, so you placed Bane in Archeron so as not to conflict with Asmodeus. But who did you envision ruling Concord. Opp., Silvanus or Oghma? And in Hades, Shar, or Myrkul? Since you adopted all the non-human gods from DDG, who rules the 7 Heavens, Tyr, Moradin, or Yandalla? Same for Sune and Corellon in Arvandor. Is Azuth ruler of Arcadia despite being (at that time) a demigod?
Thanks, and may you recover swiftly!
@TheEdVerse
Hi, Adam! Thanks for the good recovery wishes!
So back in the mists of time, when thinking through the gods of the Realms, I wrote up much lore that didn’t make it into that article.
And can tell you that I saw most of the first layer of ARCADIA as being ruled by the deity Clangeddin Silverbeard, with another part of it ruled by Marduk.
As my conception of the Outer Planes developed detail and depth, I envisaged the second layer being ruled by the Mulhorandi (Egyptian) deities (Ra, Isis, Osiris, and Horus-Re), with Azuth SECRETLY controlling conditions in Arcadia from behind the scenes (from his abode on the second layer) rather than “ruling.” Marduk was like a ‘mad bull’ deity who challenged and fought any deity he detected, so Azuth kept him deceived and walled away. Savras kept trying to free Marduk—which meant Savras got attacked by Marduk repeatedly, and this weakened Savras, so he rarely challenged Azuth.
I envisaged ARVANDOR as being ruled by Corellon (holding sway over a fey court of elven deities and visiting mortal supplicants and elf spirits, in a vast forest dominated by trees whose leaves glowed a soft blue in moonlight). I saw SUNE as dwelling on the plane, and welcome in Corellon’s court as Hanali Celanil, but possessing an essential personal nature disinterested in ruling, dominance, or authority.
I saw the plane of CONCORDANT OPPOSITION as ruled by Oghma, the Binder, as I saw Silvanus tied firmly to the forests of Toril and interested in the cycles of life there (particularly trees).
I saw HADES as being ruled by Myrkul, with Shar preferring to reign in the Void—that is, the dark places of all planes, including the Astral Plane/Astral Sea, where the bodies of dead gods float. Shar doesn’t want to be tied to any one plane that can be attacked, and that might distract her with obligations or neighbours; she wants to be everywhere, beholden to none—and is attracted to the chaos where planes meet planes, and there is destruction.
THE SEVEN HEAVENS I saw as a verdant paradise ruled by Yondalla (Chauntea), with Tyr, Moradin, and others welcome to dwell there unchallenged, and to shape ‘their’ parts of the Heavens as they see fit (Yondalla simply keeps growing things thriving, to enshroud and renew the paradise regardless of what others do).
Hope this is of help.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2019 : 16:06:04
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On Realms deities, pre-TSR:
Oct 5, 2019
@AdamDravian
Much appreciated! Though I'm on a fool's quest to run a pre-TSR Realms (relying on your early Dragon articles and lore you & THO have shared online), so I'm not sure how much of that applies. In Dragon #52, you said the only DDG content in use are the non-human deities the two giant Norse gods, and some of the animal gods. Also, you didn't originally envision Sune and Hanali being the same, did you? I thought that was introduced in 4e in the Great God Outer Plane Conversion.
@TheEdVerse
The pre-TSR Realms didn’t have the Known Planes of Existence as envisaged by Gary Gygax (and published in issue 8 of The Dragon). So none of my answers apply.
I was trying to remain true to “official” D&D as it developed, and so, shifted (as mentioned in my article in Dragon 54) deities and their lore to match what got added to the game, as it appeared. Pre-D&D, I had latched onto the notion that deities could appear to mortals, and be worshipped, as different ‘aspects,’ because I wanted to have HUNDREDS of secretive cults worshipped in back rooms or cellars or upper rooms or in clubs, by masked secret societies—without having hundreds of gods to keep track of.
Yet while Sune was part of my original, pre-D&D Realms, the entire elven pantheon (not the idea of elves having gods, but the named deities of the elves that appear in the game) came ‘aboard’ in my Realms from the D&D game (my original elven deity was ‘the Lady,’ a forest-dwelling feminine nurturing goddess who flashed tall and terrible, blue and silver, when angered and manifesting in power, to do battle on behalf of imperiled elves, and the rest of the time was a softly whispering voice on a breeze of silver sparks, or two floating, watching eyes {Mystra did the floating eyes thing, too}).
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2019 : 16:07:02
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On Waterdeep's sewers:
Oct 5, 2019
@MichaelNSCan
happy that you are recovering well and continuing to answer #realmslore questions. How deep are Waterdeep’s sewers below the surface and why don’t the main and secondary lines follow the main streets but instead run underneath buildings?
@TheEdVerse
The depth of the sewers varies, around the city (for one thing, the city is far from flat, what with Mount Waterdeep and its spur out into Castle Ward, and the plateau that the northern end of the city stands on), but is always below what we real-world modern types might call ‘basement level’ (and to Waterdhavians is “cellar level,” by which they mean one fairly deep level below ground, not several subterranean levels down). It’s important bear in mind that a lot of the sewers are flushed out by the ocean tides, coming into the harbor and ebbing out again, aided and abetted by spells cast long ago (by Ahghairon and others) and bound into the wards that help the flows of water carry sewage (so the entire harbour doesn’t become a stinking cesspool that sickens the city and kills the resident merfolk).
In our real world, main sewer lines follow the route of streets above them purely for ease of construction (and later access). They don’t do this in Waterdeep for two reasons: most of the sewers predate the current layout of the streets (i.e. the streets were different, back then), and because the sewer routes are dictated more by where springs rise and flow down to the sea, and where sewers should be sited and sized best for the tidal flushing…rather than following the routes of streets above them.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2019 : 16:09:16
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On the word Oloré:
Oct 5, 2019
@peripateticnerd
First off, speedy recovery wishes from Germany @TheEdVerse!
May I bother thee with a language question considering the Realms? Just looked up "Oloré", which means "I will smell" in Spanish. Is this a coincidence or chosen intentionally? #Realmslore
@TheEdVerse
A coincidence. My Spanish is very poor, and was even worse when I was eight years old and coined that word. ;}
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 06 Oct 2019 16:09:45 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:18:06
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On elves and the bubonic plague:
Oct 6, 2019
@jayeedgecliff
Asking @TheEdVerse if elves are immune to bubonic plague #128530;
@TheEdVerse
Immune, no. But for elves, it's rarely fatal.
They get the buboes, go delirious, and become weak and collapse or go on a frenzied tear of fighting or rushing about...and then, either way, fall into a coma. From which they recover if not harmed while 'out of it.'
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:19:23
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On Sune Firehair:
Oct 6, 2019
@AdamDravian
That's especially interesting that Sune was in the Realms so early on. My favorite PC is a Sunite, so I'm always eager for Sune lore.
Sorry my questions are targeted to a specific Realms period. I'm sure you prefer to share lore that's more broadly applicable to all Realms fans.
@TheEdVerse
Okay, here’s some early Sune lore for you.
Sune watched over her temple guards, and champions fighting on her behalf (including adventurers), and from time to time would manifest to bolster their armor class, hit points, to hit rolls, and the damage they did, so a supposed pushover would suddenly be far more formidable to, say, an orc or hobgoblin raiding band (so word very soon got around that Sunite temples and shrines were NOT easy targets). When this happened, Sune’s holy symbol (her head surrounded by her locks of hair would animate, the eyes directly focusing on, and tracking, beings who were present, and the hair writhing and swirling and giving off a glow as if it was aflame (though it very rarely was). Sune could send actual fire through her hair to start a fire if her faithful were shivering of cold and firewood was frozen, or similar situations, but very rarely did this to aid combat, aside from burning trolls.
Sune is very fond of sending inspiring images of great beauty (crafted items and nature, not just sensual) and music to her faithful, in dream-visions.
#Realmslore
@AdamDravian
Awesome! Interesting that "firehair" is sometimes literal. My PC has her symbol on his shield, but it seems really wrong to block blows with Sune's face. Would shields us an alternate symbol? Speaking of her symbol, it seems like it'd be difficult to render her perfectly beautiful face over and over again for each symbol. Does she use her power to ensure it's always perfectly rendered, or is her symbol done in a simple enough style that her beauty is left more to the imagination? And one other Sunite question
Do her faithful have any qualms about killing beautiful evil creatures. That's something I've had my PC struggle with.
@TheEdVerse
I always saw the shields of Sunite temple guards, paladins, and Sune-dedicated cleric adventurers as using Sune’s face. Usually painted in a simple style that, as you say, leaves her beauty largely to the viewer’s imagination.
But if a limner has the skill to make her portrait really striking, Sune has the fond vanity to magically ‘adjust’ it to be nigh-perfect. Making the shield entrancing.
And yes, her faithful DO have qualms about slaying (or battering, and so harming) beautiful foes. You’ve got it, spot on!
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:20:50
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On written languages in the Realms:
Oct 6, 2019
@simontubey
Hi Ed, I hope you're feeling a lot better now?!
I had always wondered if all scripts on Toril are written and read the same (left to right and down) or do some flow in a Japanese or Arabic style?
I wonder this especially for the Drow Script?
@TheEdVerse
Hi! Starting to feel better, yes, thanks!
Old gnome and halfling scripts are written to be read bottom to top, left to right, but this passed out of use in the 1100s DR with increased exposure to the Common Tongue through trading (becoming top-down like we’re used to in modern real-world North America). Writings in Kozakura and Wa are still bottom to top, in right-to-left columns.
However, drow writings (as seen in the original 2e DROW OF THE UNDERDARK, from my pen), are left to right and down. Giant writings from elder times (800s DR and earlier) are right to left, but they, too, shifted to left-to-right as trading contact increased and the Common Tongue took hold. In the times of Netheril and earlier, dragons rarely wrote things down, but when they did (often through servitors such as human worshippers), they wrote from a central identifying-the-dragon-who-was-writing rune in a tight, nigh-circular spiral, outwards.
#Realmslore
@LonePaladin
So this was like the dwarven method, of starting with an identifying emblem (like a banner or rune), and spiraling outward.
Yeah, I remember that article.
@TheEdVerse
The dwarves adopted it from the dragons. Knowing a good thing when they saw it.
#Realmslore
@Greysil_Tassyr
Did each dragon use its own unique rune, like a mage sigil, or was it more like Japanese, with a particular (possibly unique) combination of characters forming their name?
@TheEdVerse
Each dragon used their own unique sigil.
#Realmslore
@Greysil_Tassyr
Did those unique sigils have similar protections to mage sigils, preventing their misuse or forgery? Or was there some sort of cultural imperative in avoiding misuse of these sigils? Do dragons still use those unique runes, and is there a term for them?
@TheEdVerse
The sigils bear no magic to prevent their misuse or forgery, but any dragon misusing or forging would be shunned by other wyrms, and deemed mad; such behaviour is just ‘not done.’ It is ‘beneath a dragon.’ Madwyrms are to be cast out and if possible destroyed, and in any event no other dragon will aid them or make common cause with them.
Yes, dragons still use such sigils, and they are known as “othwaer” (oth = self + waer = rune, sigil, symbol of meaning). (In ancient times, “oth” was rendered “auth.”)
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 10 Oct 2019 11:21:16 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:23:01
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On four-course meals of the Realms:
Oct 6, 2019
@Jon_4L
what are some common four course meals in the Realms? Do they vary more depending on race, or depending on locale?
@TheEdVerse
They vary most depending on race; orcs and half-orcs prefer to eat a diet almost exclusively of meat, and dwarves prefer meat and dark, nutty breads, whereas elves prefer berries and green vegetables.
If you’re traveling in the Realms, and dining in taverns, inns, or eateries, here are four common meals with several ‘removes’ (=courses):
THE WARM BOARD [a solid, respectable meal, served in “good inns” in cities and towns]
1. Bowls (of fire-eggs, of nuts, and of cubed cheeses). “Fire-eggs” are hard-boiled eggs, usually hens’ eggs but sometimes duck eggs, cut in half, with the yolks blended with honey or mustard, then spooned back into the cut halves.
2. Pottage (a soup of yesterday’s leftover meat, with vegetables). Such as: potato, leek, and diced bacon or roast fowl, or ham, leek, and pea, or barley, bean, and goose (or duck, or chicken).
3. Roast Eel, Tench, or Silverfin (in coastal areas) or Rabbit or Grouse or Boar (inland).
4. Tarts (filled with cherries or berries).
Served with ale and/or “table wine” (a blended dry or semi-dry white or red wine, made locally).
#Realmslore
SOLID SUPPER [plain but sustaining fare; found in rural way-inns or the best eateries in small towns]
1. Bowls (of cubed cheeses, squares of honeycomb, and/or dates).
2. Pottage (a mixed stew of local vegetables and meats [whatever can be had, from local rats to the last fragments of smoked, aged carcases of just about anything; often venison]; failing that, simmered broth).
3. Capon with orange or lemon sauce (chicken stewed in wine, fruit, and spices) or Boar in Gravy.
4. Sugared Bread Slices (hardbread/toasted rusks sprinkled with sugar or spread with local berry jams).
Served with small beer or ale.
EVENINGFEAST [expensive, served in superior establishments]
1. Bowls (of chocolate, preserved fruits [jellies], sugared nuts, pickled silverfin or other smallfish, hot snails in butter).
2. Chilled Fruit Soup (such as strawberry, mandarin oranges, rhubarb).
3. Cucumber Medallions in Vinegar and/or Roasted Marrow Slices in Mulled Wine or Cider.
4. Cheese Tray (assortment, served with pickled onions, sweet pickles, spiced jams and/or meat marrow, on flavored crackers).
5. Boar Salad (bacon-flake-covered fresh greens, with sliced radishes and root vegetables, drizzled with spiced cider dressing).
6. First Meat (roast hare and/or stuffed chicken and/or stuffed pigeon, garnished with hard-boiled eggs spiced with cloves).
7. Second Meat (roast stag quarter, and/or a whole roast roe deer, and/or a whole roast wild boar, and/or a stuffed-with-pickled-eels sturgeon [ports and coastal areas only]).
8. First Sweet (plums stewed in rose-water and/or fruit tarts: cherry, gooseberry, or other local berries, often stewed in brandy or cordial).
9. Second Sweet (Sugared pastries [we would call them “shortbread cookies”] or love bites [small oval puff pastries filled with lemon cream and glazed with caramel]).
Served with zzar, brandy, port, sherry, and an assortment of light wines and dark beers.
SIMPLES [Served in rural places or by those charging little or with impoverished pantries]
1. Pork pot pies (stuffed with pork, bacon, and onion or leek, and seasoned with salt, pepper, sage, or other spices).
2. Sausages, fried with eggs and/or diced, spiced root vegetables (parsnips, turnips, or potatoes).
3. Grapes, drenched in a honey glaze.
Served with small beer or ale or homemade “petal” wine (dandelion or other wild weed).
Local variations on all of these, of course, depending on what’s available.
For instance, a cheap seaside tavern may serve a fried mash of mixed smallfish, followed by diced pickled herring, followed by leek-buttered fried slices of hardbread, all washed down with ale. A cheap countryside tavern may serve a “simmer stew” of mixed vegetables and whatever meat can be had (it’ll be brown and dominated by onions).
There we are; hope this is of help.
#Realmslore
@Jon_4L
Gods above, wow that helps! Extra curiosity (just to spruce up some verisimilitude for a campaign I'm running), does Laeral Silverhand have a go-to that adventurers are served when they're in her home?
@TheEdVerse
Laeral’s extensive herb garden grows INTO her kitchen, flourishing even indoors by means of growing conditions arranged ‘just so’ and by some spells cast by friendly elves and druids. As a result, year-round, she can serve up potato-and-leek soup (improved with subtle garnishes of chives and garlic), as it’s always on the go in her kitchen simmer-cauldron. To this she can add fried mushrooms (from her own farmhouse cellar), done in chive butter (her own cows, her own chives), fried quail eggs (she keeps her own birds), and herb and cheddar buns. Washed down with mugs of manyherbs chicken broth.
#Realmslore
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:24:27
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On Velen:
Oct 7, 2019
@ElisabethADixon
I hope your recovery is going well! :) I have a couple questions if you don't mind: (1) is Velen still an independent duchy and (2) while Athkatla seems a reasonable place to restock/refresh while traveling via ship from Waterdeep to Port Nyranzaru, is Velen? Thanks!
@TheEdVerse
Hi! Yes, Velen is still an independent duchy, ruled by a Duke, but it now enjoys friendly relations with Tethyr (the two realms are staunch allies, cooperating against pirates and mercenary forays sponsored by ambitious satraps of Calimshan seeking to annex territory). Within Velen, many Tethyrian loyalists work to overthrow Velen’s ruling duke and courtiers, but they work quietly (if you want things to become violent in your campaign, there’s a DM’s Guild adventure, MURDER IN VELEN, that covers such events).
Regardless of how much unrest and tumult you want to have in Velen itself, it has always been a stronghold resisting the pirates of the Nelanther, meaning it’s well-defended (with ballistae and trebuchets stationed on heights, a harbour chain and harbor defense ships bristling with ballistae that can launch fiery missiles to set ships aflame, and a well-equipped fighting force of defenders, the Stalwart Shields or just “Stalwarts,” who know how to swim), well-equipped (full drydocks for ship repairs, several sailmakers and ropers { =ropemakers} and outfitters who can swiftly turn a ship from a damaged hulk into a seaworthy vessel), and well-provisioned (not only does it have coopers and warehouses galore, it’s endured pirate sieges in the past and so by local law has food-stores “laid by” as well as a lot of edible goods warehoused for trading. Sailors on the Sword Coast know that Velen is a reliable source for casks of salted meat and biscuits, wheels of cheese, and pickles, all in bulk sufficient to fill the cargo holds of any large Sword Coast cogs.
Which is a long-winded way of saying to your questions: 1. Yes. And 2. Yes. ;}
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:47:37
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On dates of the home campaign:
Oct 9, 2019
@AdamDravian
Hey, Ed. Question about the dating of your home Realms campaign (both in-game & reality). I gather the Crazed Venturers campaign began c. 1978, and FR0 and FR1 seems to suggest that was c. 1340 DR. I had guessed the Swords of Eveningstar (KoMD) campaign started c. 1981. Your Dragon #65 (Sep. '82) article implies that Doust had recently become Lord of Shadowdale and that Lashan's forces had yet to attack (placing it around the start of 1356 DR). But you mentioned on twitter that Pennae's death occurred during a vivid 1979 Realmsplay session. I was under the impression that her death is what spurred the Shadowdale census that occurred in Marpenoth 1355 DR, placing her death just a few months before Lashan's threatening letter arrived.
So either it took a few "real-life" years to play out the events of just a few months in-game, or I got some of these dates majorly messed up.
I'm also curious what the year was in your home Realms when you sold it to TSR in the summer of '86. Was it 1357 DR?
I'd appreciate your illumination on this. Thanks!
@TheEdVerse
Hi! You're correct on all of those dates, including it being 1357 DR in the "home" Realms campaign when TSR bought the Realms.
It did indeed take years of real time to roleplay just a few months in-game. To quote Bill Watterson: "The Days Are Just Packed."
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Wooly Rupert
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36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:48:13
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On legally claiming a portal:
Oct 9, 2019
@RandomQueriant
What I'm really wondering is...if you found a portal to some where in Faerun, how involved would it be to acquire the legal claim to it? Or where there is little law, enough recognition that people don't bother you about your new construction project.
@TheEdVerse
The answer is: it depends. On where, precisely, in the Realms you're interested in settling. In cities, every patch of ground is owned, and there is planning control (if only to stop some greedy latecomer building on a street, and "cutting off" those already sited along it). In tightly-governed Realms, there are deeds to land, and control of vacant lands (if "the Crown" is distant, there's a local lord/courtier/bureaucraft administering the royal interests, or local nobles who control lands and rent them out, sell them, or gift them). But in many, many wilderland areas of the Realms (most of the countryside of the Heartlands or the Sword Coast North, for example), you can just "squat" (settle, build a home, and live there) and no one will bother you. That's pretty much how Everlund was first settled. In many cases, all that happens is that, later on, someone comes along to collects taxes, annually. Not demand a deed, or sell you one, or tell you that you can't build another barn or outhouse; they just want the coin.
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Wooly Rupert
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USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:49:34
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On the horde invasion:
Oct 9, 2019
@BraynerPereira1
Hi Ed, how are you doing? i hope you're recovering fast.. i have some curiosity about yamun khahan and the tuigan people.. can you tell us a little bit about the story behind it and what inspired this idea to become part of the realms.
Thanks a Lot
@TheEdVerse
Hi. I had nothing to do with that storyline, which was hatched in-house. My guess is that the TSR designers of the time who were history buffs (Zeb Cook and Doug Niles) thought that putting a horde sweeping across the “civilized” lands and having to be fought by a hasty alliance of realms (echoing the real-life Genghis Khan) would make a great story. But it’s just a guess on my part.
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Wooly Rupert
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36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:50:26
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On multi-racial dragons:
Oct 9, 2019
@Agamemnon5174
Do u know of any realms lore with multi racial dragons say if a green and black dragon mated and their offspring was a mixture of both colors?
@TheEdVerse
When dragons of different types mate, most of the time they have no offspring.
When they do, their children almost always 'favor' one parent's "type" over the other (that is, your green and black mating would have a green child or a black child; they might have some characteristics varying from the norm, but to another's eye would seem either a green or a black dragon. In VERY rare instances, the offspring will favor neither parent, and may be a new dragon type, albino, or even a 'twisted' non-dragon. (Up to the DM.)
#Realmslore
@Lord_Toast13
Oh for an Odds & Ends request, could you provide a name for "twisted" type?
@TheEdVerse
Sure. The Scalyfang Marauder that terrorized Saelmur and Ankhapur in the mid-1300s DR, raiding out of the Thornwood, was almost certainly the lone, ‘mule’ (sterile) offspring of a brown dragon mating with a green dragon.
#Realmslore
@thunderbrd1
So then gem dragons are not the metallic/chromatic cross-breeds?
@TheEdVerse
They could be metallic/chromatic crossbreeds (="In VERY rare instances, the offspring will favor neither parent, and may be a new dragon type"), that 'bred true' as a stable new sort of dragon, long, long ago (meaning that from the POV of humans alive now in the Realms, the genesis of various sorts of gem dragons happened so long ago that such dragons 'have always existed').
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Wooly Rupert
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36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:51:23
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On dragon names:
Oct 8, 2019
@ZeromaruX
Hi, @TheEdVerse, how you been?
Can you help me with naming a dragon? He is a silver dragon lord from Abeir, that now is trying to do business in Waterdeep and Neverwinter. I really like the Realmsian dragon names, so any help would be appreciated
@TheEdVerse
Here’s a list of dragons of the Realms who haven’t yet appeared in print, so feel free to grab a name and use it, or modify it. :}
Alaeraghratar
Arlhaedron
Barraurus
Beltagos
Caerlaurgoth
Camorthragar
Dezruldrac
Dizoarastur
Eibranrath
Eldracomyr
Forlrandamrath
Furmalogrym
Gaulindrakkar
Gorlgorthaugh
Harraklorr
Hulmaerak
Indurlyrammatar
Ithkuulathtaer
Jervarmarr
Juthyndreth
Kathander
Kauntlarritus
Lantalanargar
Lorneldagar
Mahlarmark
Murlordrathar
Naelorragauth
Nurgalaglar
Olorammatar
Osklauthragar
Paroaraglar
Pymmorgloraddar
Rauthglarrul
Relauroghladur
Selmraugyr
Slurrvarralograthdar
Taranthraugladar
Turlorraug
Urlaumradar
Urskauntral
Vaeranthynd
Volaurace
Wovelaradaur
Wyndanthrak
Ximmyth
Xolauryx
Yaklamaundor
Yuthandragar
Zerlorugog
Zorlandrethul
…And of this list, Vaeranthynd sounds like a silver dragon name to me, but so do several of the others.
Hope this roster is of help.
#Realmslore
@EllisThule
This might have minor overlap with another question, but here goes: is this list your work? How do you generate these names--pulled from the aether? Structured deliberately in some way? Is there an underlying language of some contrivance whose rules you obey?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, I made this list up. Initially, my dragon names (as distinct from those coined by others) were just pulled off the top of my head, but over the years, I've derived some syllables that 'sound draconic,' and I often incorporate them into dragon names I coin these days. Which includes every dragon name on this list. Some of those syllables now have meanings attached to them, so the names actually 'mean something' in Draconic.
#Realmslore
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:52:20
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On the Old Owl Well:
Oct 8, 2019
@lukey_baby86
How strange this has appeared in my feed, literally just downloaded both these a couple days ago as I'm researching the same, looking for info on old owl well for my lmop campaign, want to bulk it out with a dungeon ruin or something underneath. Any suggestions while I'm here?
@TheEdVerse
Sure! These days, those who happen upon Old Owl Well, whether they’ve heard of its history or not, usually know that it was named for owlbears in the area, and that orcs recently laired there but have disappeared.
They know of it as a now-crumbling stone watchtower over a well that’s still reliable (and vital to travelers) as a source of cold, clear drinking water. Almost no one (for centuries) has thought about the subterranean granary chambers under the tower, hollowed out at various levels along the deep, deep well. They’ve long been lost and forgotten, the ways down into them thoroughly filled with earth and stone by collapsing ground nigh the tower. However, it’s high time for further collapse to reveal a way down in.
Adventurers will discover not only cached treasures and supplies, but the monsters of the Underdark who’ve ascended to lair in the chambers.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 11:53:39
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| I've got a few more Ed responses to post; hopefully I can do those this eve. |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 10 Oct 2019 : 16:12:47
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Thanks for compiling the answers, Wooly. Keep up the good work 
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Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2019 : 04:37:28
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On worshipers of Talos, in Thay:
Oct 9, 2019
@clackclickbang
The characters in my Thayvian campaign have fallen afoul of a recurring enemy, in the form of a Talassan! Our questions for you are: 1.) Could you detail any historic zulkirs who once held Talos as their favoured deity? #3
@TheEdVerse
Okay, here’s an answer to Question 1. My reply will be in three parts because of Twitter’s wordcount limits.
Haradran Baranthar, the Founding Zulkir of Evocation (1030 DR – 1052 DR), was a coldly ruthless, heavy-set man, bald and a masterful actor (in complete control of his face, voice, and body language at all times), who loved rich food and good wine, and loved dabbling in local politics in small ways all over Faerûn EXCEPT in Thay, just for the fun of it. He wore simple maroon or claret-hued robes and sandals, dismissed scents and jewelry and fashion as “fripperies for the weak-minded and easily distracted,” and took care to shrewdly judge his fellow zulkirs, so as never to be caught by surprise.
He became fabulously rich by manipulating Sembian traders into investing in Sembian urban properties and businesses on his behalf, and indulged Talos by working on weather magic to ravage Chessenta repeatedly. “Baeranth” was feared and respected on the Council of Zulkirs, as he suffered no fools gladly, could be blunt in his critiques, and revealed by what he did say that he was thinking many steps ahead and watching and judging events all over Toril. He was most interested in building Thay into an agriculturally self-sufficient, verdant land where innovation on the part of all inhabitants, of low or high station, would be rewarded—and exploited by the society. He was disgusted by fellow zulkirs who used their magical might to tyrannize or in any way needlessly assert authority, believing that such behaviour should be reserved for emergencies when the realm was threatened.
He was destroyed in 1052 when a huge storm he was magically building over the Wizards’ Reach, intending to send it across the Inner Sea to Threskel and Chessenta (in part to damage crops and property, to keep those realms “behind” Thay in development and too busy rebuilding to even think of challenging the Realm of the Red Wizards), turned on him and tore him apart; he was “scattered in a red mist of blood and innards” by its winds. The storm didn’t get away from him, though that was the fiction put about to cover up his murder, but was altered by three of his foes on Council, aiding an ambitious evoker who sought his Council seat: the nasal, weasel-faced Zaeruth Vreel (Zulkir of Evocation 1052 DR – 1058 DR), who was not a Talassan, but was so conniving and treacherous that he became the first zulkir to be exterminated by the rest of the Council, acting in concert at a Council meeting. They gave Vreel to understand they were about to reward him, and when he stood forth to receive their praise, they all let fly with magic; their spells utterly destroyed him on the spot, reducing him to whirling, blazing bones in one breath, and sparks and ash the next.
#Realmslore
The next Talassan to hold a zulkirate was Lanavrar Onthrul (Zulkir of Evocation 1117 DR – 1126 DR), a young, handsome, urbane seducer of men and women all over Toril except Thay. Lanavrar made friends easily, lovers more easily still, and learned much of local society and politics all over the Realms, quietly involving himself in wizards’ cabals and guilds in many places and gaining magic by quietly murdering and seizing the magic of wizards he deemed to be “worthless”—that is, those who used their magic to be petty local tyrants, coercing or blackmailing or bullying others into obedience. Lanavrar was among the first zulkirs to “disappear” aboard, destroyed by the spells of six wizards he’d made enemies of, assembled and sponsored by an outraged husband he’d cuckolded, in Tethyr. One of them kept his skull as a trophy, and it’s rumored to have survived to this day—as part of a “feast bowl” (punch bowl) used at family feasts. Lanavrar is also rumored to have left rich treasure hidden all over Faerûn, in small amounts.
#Realmslore
The third Talassan to be the Zulkir of Evocation was Shalarkra Rhandalaer (Zulkir of Evocation 1166 DR – 1182 DR). She was a short, slender, dark-haired, vivacious woman with piercing dark brown eyes set under severe black brows. Quiet of voice and movement, she had a knack of drifting onscene unnoticed, and “fading away” in the same manner. She held to simple tastes in food, fashion, and abode (few furnishings in a handful of rooms, with no servants but a halfling family of cooks and launderers), and devoted herself to Council politics—that is, meeting often with fellow zulkirs to work quiet diplomacy, intended to weld the Council into a unified group whose disputes could remain professional, who respected each other, and who could act swiftly and decisively in accord, on behalf of Thay. She sought to do this without in any way dominating Council or trying to promote her agenda or policies, and for the most part her fellow zulkirs welcomed her work and cooperated, so that during her time, the Council did act together and more or less saw Thay and its future in the same way. Had she lived, Thay might have been far greater, far faster, but she perished of a wasting disease of the lungs contracted from a menagerie of caged monsters seized from a Chessentan “lord” whose lands she seized after he got so into debt to Thayan merchants that he stopped all repayments to them. It’s long been rumored that Thayan wizards in exile, opposed to the rule of the Council, cast spells on the disease-ridden Rhandalaer to make her helpless and sap her vitality so she couldn’t withstand the ravages of the disease. It was definitely some sort of magic that animated her dying self into a wild-eyed lunatic who stalked the living and tried to eat them alive, so that they struck her down in fear. And then took her helpless body to a smokehouse and stoked its fires to cremate her alive. Her last act was to call a storm that lashed that Chessentan village with rain and lightning and earth-tremors for a solid month after her passing.
So endeth my answer to Question 1. Answers to Qs 2 and 3 are coming, perhaps late tonight, or perhaps tomorrow. We’ll see. :}
#Realmslore
@coolguy73360922
According to the description in“Tyrants in Scarlet” ,the first Zulkir of Evocation was Dlueae Sharshyndree. Were she and Haradran the same person?
@TheEdVerse
Whoops! Sorry to you and everyone! I misread the date in my faint pencil notes. Haradran Baranthar was NOT the Founding Zulkir of Evocation, but Dlueae Sharshyndree’s successor when she died in battle in 1040 DR.
So Haradran become Zulkir in 1040, not 1030 (and no, they weren’t the same person).
#Realmslore
Oct 9, 2019
@clackclickbang
As ever, your capacity for invention and stirring tales is superb. This is exactly the kind of thing my players will enjoy finding out about. Thank you!
@TheEdVerse
Right, time for an answer to your Question 2 (“How is the worship of Talos treated in Thay?”). Here we go:
Thay has historically had little use for Red Wizards following ANY faith deeply enough to interfere with their obedience to either the Council of Zulkirs, or the Zulkir of ‘their’ school if they’re dedicated to a school of magic, or Szass Tam (depending on when we’re speaking of). Venerating Mystra (or Azuth, or Savras back in the day), is readily tolerated because such worship by and large doesn’t infringe on the loyalty of a Red Wizard. Other faiths (Talos included) are accommodated insofar as they don’t challenge the ‘Thay first’ loyalties of a Red Wizard.
(Remember, all sentient, sane mortals in the Realms ‘believe in’ all of the gods and at least lip-service worship them on a propitiate ‘hold-wrath-at-bay’/‘win temporary favour’ basis.)
A Red Wizard who magically called up destructive storms to please Talos that ravaged parts of Thay would be sharply curbed, even demoted, but a Red Wizard who calls up the exact same storms to ravage elsewhere than Thay would not be. If they did so in pursuit of a Thayvian operation/mission/goal agreed-upon by their superiors (their zulkir, or the Council of Zulkirs, or Szass Tam), they would win approval.
#Realmslore
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2019 : 04:39:52
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On the Mallowbrige family of Marsember:
Oct 8, 2019
@sanishiver
Dear @TheEdVerse,
If you don’t mind, I would like to return the once-noble Mallowbrige family to Marsember.
They’re not prominent or dominant, but they are trying to marry themselves into every established noble family in the City of Spices in an attempt to control from behind the scenes.
Do you or Elminster know of any resources or secrets the Maoiliwbridges of today have access to that would aid their cause?
#ThankYou!
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes. ;}
The Mallowbridges of today know (secondhand; passed down to them by elder family members now deceased or senile) a LOT about which wealthy and/or noble Marsemban families participated in smuggling, including of kidnapped Cormyreans; which Marsemban families were involved in various plots against the Crown of Cormyr, including attempts by individuals of Sembia or Westgate to blackmail and/or subvert the ‘local lord’ of Marsember AND Purple and Blue Dragons stationed in Marsember; and about certain ‘indiscretions’ on the part of particular War Wizards in the immediate wake of Vangerdahast becoming a dragon, that involved said Wizards of War ‘looking the other way’ regarding certain small acts of treason (for example, thefts from Marsemban vaults of the Crown treasury) by low-level Marsemban Crown officials (tax collectors, Customs inspectors), in return for monetary reward (in other words, these War Wizards were looking to establish ‘nest eggs’ for their retirements).
The trick, on the part of the Mallowbridges of today, will be how to play these cards.
They want to leverage themselves into marital unions, not make themselves seem dangerous enough to be swiftly eliminated for the safety of many. ;}
#Realmslore
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2019 : 04:56:34
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On public nudity:
Oct 11, 2019
@NaturistGamingE
Strange question, but perhaps one you've had before. Aside from the followers of Eilistraee are there any groups/sects in the Realms that practice non-sexual nudity? How is public/social nudity perceived in the Realms in general? I ask because I'm wanting to build a campaign that allows for nudist characters.
@TheEdVerse
In general, folk of Faerûn are far more “easy going” about public nudity than we are, hereabouts and now in the real world. With that said, in the cold North (or anywhere and anywhen else when exposure will be a physical problem), sane folk ‘cover up.’
Many folk in rural Samarach go bare by day, with two exceptions: they wear knee-high or higher boots, and when the day isn’t overcast, they wear large woven-grass hats (circular headgear looking rather like flattened tagine pots, only three feet across or more) to shield them from the sun. These always have a chinstrap, and are worn down the wearer’s back when not on the head, but expected to be needed.
The folk of Tirumala in the Beastlands (Veldorn) customarily go unclad, a custom that began when their ruling rakshasa wanted to see at a glance if slaves were carrying suspicious weapons or tools.
And there’s a human tribe among the barbarians of the Utter East who by custom go naked (despite riding horses much of the time), though every rider carries a big cloak that can serve as a garment or tent if need be. They are the Nuarrleth (or just “Nuarr” in daily speech), and are a nomadic matriarchy, led by a council of the elder women of every family. Much of their diet is edible roots and birds that they fell with spears, crossbows, and hurlsticks (= boomerangs).
Also, the Jungle Dwarves of Chult have always gone naked, except for their tattoos and body paintings.
#Realmslore
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2019 : 04:57:18
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On draconic pride:
Oct 13, 2019
@EllisThule
Fascinating! "Draconic pride" seems like such an incredible understatement, then :)
Have you any other notable taboos to look out for (for the casual character-builder)?
@TheEdVerse
Sure. Dragons can involve their servants and lair guardians in battles against other dragons, but it’s ‘not done’ to make alliances with non-dragons (such as orc tribes) for the purpose of warring against other dragons.
More than this, dragons shun giants of all sorts. They don’t talk with them directly, they don’t make deals with them, and they certainly don’t make alliances with them or trade with them. Giants are FOES, to be bested if one can or is in the mood, and otherwise ignored.
And another taboo: treasure is never to be destroyed or ruined (e.g. breathing fire on gems, but not melting gold coins) to keep it from falling into the hands of someone else. Treasure is TREASURE, not to be diminished for any reason.
#Realmslore
Oct 14, 2019
@jayeedgecliff
Oh dear … in my game a group of hominids are attempting to tame the Stonelands by diplomacy with the orcs, goblins, dragons, and giants.
Being allied with us wouldn’t count as being allied with the giants, would it?
@TheEdVerse
No, dragons are arrogant enough, especially when humans and other “morsels” are involved, not to trace alliances through other groups. So, no, it wouldn’t count in the dragon’s eyes.
Their thinking is that humans, halflings, goblins, et al are so weak, of mind and body, that they have to do all sorts of mad, demeaning things just to survive. (Oh, THEM. They’ll work with ANYBODY!) The giants wouldn’t care; they think draconic pride is ridiculous, and a flaw. (Despite the arrogance of certain sorts of giants; that’s DIFFERENT.)
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2019 : 05:04:03
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On choosing between Tyr and Torm:
Oct 12, 2019
@Sands_Tavares
hey, Sage, for my Session tomorrow I would like to set up a situation(maybe a trial for a criminal) where my paladin player has to Make a call and decide between Tyr and Torm for their Oath of The Ancients. How could I make it cool and meaningful in-canon?
@TheEdVerse
Have a battle-scarred angel visit the paladin and challenge him to answer, on the spot, “What would you do?” when confronted by a law that is being misused, or has overly harsh consequences because of its wording.
E.g. the law that some Dragonreach cities had (Mulmaster still has it on the books) that an orc who tries to live in the city, or stay there overnight, must be forcibly put outside the gates—and if they persist, put to death on the spot.
What if a bewildered orc babe is found, alone, with no parents to be found anywhere in the city? But it clings to humans and weeps, and when put outside the gates crawls hurriedly back in again? Should it be put to death on the spot?
If the character chooses “no,” then the character should declare for Tyr, who punishes all wrong (and taking the Oath of the Ancients does mean the character is putting themself in the roles of judge, jury, and executioner.
If the character chooses “yes,” then they are for Torm, who cleaves to duty and loyalty and would uphold the law. They might petition that the law be altered, but until it is, it must be followed.
Make the choice clear by having the angel ask, “Is it YES…” (and Torm manifests, as a floating, glowing-with-a-white-halo white gauntlet) “…or NO?” (and Tyr manifests, as balanced scales resting atop a head-upright warhammer).
#Realmslore
@Sands_Tavares
That is amazing! My game is in Baldur's Gate, so is there a similar law that would generate a dillema? Also, far be it for me to question your authority on this, but isn't Tyr blind justice? I would have thought their roles to be switched in this situation. Would love to knowmore
@TheEdVerse
Tyr WAS blind justice, but recall the history of the two deities (Tyr raising Torm to lesser deity status, abdicating his godhood and portfolios to Torm, then being restored along with all the other gods after the Sundering). Tyr now punishes wrong, above all.
So Tyr is the SPIRIT of the law, and Torm is now the LETTER of the law. (Back in the 1300s DR, Tyr was the letter of the law and Torm was the "what the heck, we're adventurers, we can look the other way" leeway.
So in Baldur's Gate, there is still a law that says that if a citizen or visitor is given a direct order by a uniformed member of the Flaming Fist (or a requisition of anything from a sword to a potato to their house is demanded of them), they must obey or be subject to martial punishment on the spot (loss of an ear, a hand, their tongue, or even their life).
In recent years (as you'll see in DESCENT INTO AVERNUS) the Fist has become a corrupt organization. What if a Fist member clearly abuses this law to seize a shopkeeper's supper, takings for the day, and tools? And then the same from the NEXT shopkeeper? (Tossing them in a requistioned cart to go and sell, except for the food that they'll eat.)
Uphold the law? (Torm) Or stop the Fist member because the law's being misused? (Tyr)
#Realmslore
@Sands_Tavares
That's really interesting to hear. So, regarding Tyr's entry on the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, would you say this habit of wearing cloth over the eyes is misguided? Is Tyr now to be associated with fairness after all? Are there conflicts about it in the church of Tyr/Torm?
@TheEdVerse
Wearing cloth over the eyes is a ritual/habit that, like most “displays” (uses of symbols, colours, gestures, etc.) will persist despite changes in doctrine. The clergy who do it don’t feel it’s misguided, which is what matters when it comes to their continuing to do it. As for fairness, that’s a slippery thing. Again, the clergy of Tyr have always believed any fairness in the world comes from their deity and their diligence in service to him, but outsiders may disagree, now and in the past. And yes, there are constant conflicts over doctrine, what the gods involved really mean by this or that action or manifestation or pronouncement, and what the ‘right thing to do’ is, for Holy Faithful (= we ordained priests) in this or that situation. Unlike in our real world, sane beings in the Realms never doubt their belief (the existence of the gods); their crises of faith are all about what the correct interpretation is, how they should best serve the deity, and what the deity wants them to do. We all bring our own preferences, past experience, and human emotions to the table; mortal clergy in the Realms are no different.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2019 : 05:05:05
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On elves and time:
Oct 14, 2019
@jayeedgecliff
I know you’ve answered versions of this at other times but invariably the question and, therefore, answer skirt around this a bit:
All specific game mechanics aside –so purely narratively speaking – how do elves experience time?
To clarify:
Obviously they don’t perceive it in the rather slow-motion manner of Ents who can spend a month on “Hallo! Nice foliage. Come here often?” But rather seem to perceive it at the same pace as humans but with so much more of it, allowing them to wait and deliberate much longer.
So more to the point, barring a learning curve that requires them to be 35 before they’re potty trained would it not be safe to assume them to be competent, already, in either multiple fields of study or very competent in a single one if they begin adventure at … say 120yo?
I mean … in my own narrative perception of long-lived but human paced beings I generally do prolong childhood, and adolescence … but as they still experienced … 16yrs of life they’re often academically – if nowhere near biologically – somewhere nearish to 16
Give or take how altered their shift from infancy to childhood, and thereby tendency to do things like pick up reading or dance. So in the case of a race that lives for dozens of millennia, even at 1000 they’re often at least a few centuries worth of well read & graceful
But frankly you’ve devoured more books in your life to-date than I’d be able to in 12 lifetimes and have had more time to think on it, having a decade or 2 headstart on me. Your insight could prove … is there a word for enlightening, but is a *superlative* enlightenment?
Thanks
@TheEdVerse
Here’s how I see it for elves in the Realms: from a human POV, any elf they meet, regardless of age, will seem expert in the natural ways of the world, and learned in human history/culture. So, yes, elves are competent in several fields of study and expert in at least one (beyond basics like archery and the care and maintenance of metal weapons and tools) at 120 years. “Sophisticated” is how many humans might describe even an adolescent elf.
Whereas to another elf, that same elf is an irresponsible teenager because they’re still whimsical dabblers, ‘flighty’ and inclined to plunge into something new or tired of something and move on without feeling the need to shoulder responsibilities, or caring overmuch about consequences…which elves increasingly do as they get older. In other words, an adolescent elf is still trying new things ‘like mad’ and is an ideal adventurer because they have a strong dash of ‘what the heck, why not?’ recklessness and an eagerness to see the world, dare danger, and so on, whereas an older elf is more mindful of their responsibilities/family ties/what will be harmed if they get killed.
And in comparison to Ents, who cogitate slowly and make decisions even more slowly, elves have minds that race along, but try to take into consideration all sides and nuances and down-the-road consequences.
Not just for themselves or their kin, and not just for a few generations (as more humans consider), but for the entire world and all creatures/ecosystems in it. I’m not saying their world-view is complete, detailed, and unflawed, I’m saying that’s the broad scope of their instinctive thinking. With many qualifiers (“we’ll have to see how things look after the first hard winter, and if this, then revise like so, but if that, then…”).
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2019 : 05:06:02
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On temples acquiring powdered silver:
Oct 14, 2019
@TorvikW
What is the typical method used by temple's clergy to acquire powdered silver for certain cleric spells/holy water? Is it perhaps a mechanical device; something portable that an adventuring party can use to grind silver coins while on the go?
@TheEdVerse
It is. It’s a made-by-dwarves adamantine box that separates into two halves for loading/unloading, and is held together with massive screws binding projecting edge-seams. Coins go in the box, and a smooth-spoke-wheeled-grip (like old porcelain real-world bathtub Hot & Cold knobs, but also of adamantine) fat screw set into the top of the box, that has rough-diamond-tipped “point threads,” is screwed slowly down into the box, grinding the coins as it goes. This is a “while away the time around the fireside of evenings” task that builds hand strength; travelers typically hand the box around to each other to “have a go” and then pass it on.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2019 : 05:09:58
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On the death of Syluné:
Oct 14, 2019
@Greysil_Tassyr
Friend Ed, I find myself wondering about the death of Syluné. We're told she broke a staff of the magi to kill a dragon -- but why? Why did she not rely on her impressive spellcasting abilities? Has any information been given about the dragon?
@TheEdVerse
This was during a Flight of Dragons. She had exhausted all of her resources defending Shadowdale against over sixty of them; with all of her spells gone and her minor magic exhausted, she'd channeled so much raw Weave energy through herself that her body was disintegrating.
And then came the largest, fiercest dragon of all, so she sacrificed herself to save Shadowdale, by breaking the staff and using its energy to destroy the wyrm. (TSR promptly pounced on the Flight of Dragons idea for later re-use.)
#Realmslore
@Greysil_Tassyr
Wow, that's a totally different view on that. Thank you for that info!
Was there any particular reason so many dragons were converging on that one area?
@TheEdVerse
Oh, yes, they'd been magically sent. Who by? Still NDA, I'm afraid, but let me just say that it was Zhentarim who wanted the powerful defenders of Shadowdale gone.
#Realmslore |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2019 : 15:07:36
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| Making a lore request for the Thelaeneum, the order of 'mage-philosophers' first mentioned in the Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set. As far as I can tell, this is the only place they've been mentioned. I can't find anything here or on the interwebz about it. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2019 : 16:26:09
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quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach
Making a lore request for the Thelaeneum, the order of 'mage-philosophers' first mentioned in the Ruins of Myth Drannor boxed set. As far as I can tell, this is the only place they've been mentioned. I can't find anything here or on the interwebz about it.
Are you asking someone to request info on the Twitter, or have you done so, already?
My personal objective has just been to collate what is posted there, since anyone can create an account and ask questions directly. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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AJA
Senior Scribe
USA
771 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2019 : 00:12:46
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It's not from Ed directly (and not a tweet), but I thought this thread the best place to put this; from sageadvice.eu (and @GameholeCon and Alex Kammer) high-res photos of Ed's original taped-together Realms maps:
The Forgotten Realms original map draw by Ed Greenwood! With detailed images of the most famous RPG setting
The thing that really stood out to me -- aside from finally understanding what Ed meant all those times he said how sorry he felt for anyone trying to transcribe his microscopic chicken-scratch (I see under Waterdeep it says, "inc. Undermountain .... Dungeon of the Crypt, but what's the middle part? And the note on Ardeep says "where the .... .... formed"?) -- was the Moonshae section, where you can see how he taped the "new Moonshaes" over his originals, including the excised realm of Eskember and the original placement of Flamsterd Isle. You can almost make out the original outlines underneath as well.
[ EDIT: Also, let me say once again thanks and excellent job keeping up with collating these tweets, Wooly! ]
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AJA
YAFRP
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Edited by - AJA on 01 Nov 2019 00:16:07 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36805 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2019 : 03:02:14
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
[ EDIT: Also, let me say once again thanks and excellent job keeping up with collating these tweets, Wooly! ]
Just trying to make sure the lore is readily accessible. 
I've got a couple more bits to share, but time has not been in copious supply, of late. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2019 : 11:37:55
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quote:
Originally posted by AJA
It's not from Ed directly (and not a tweet), but I thought this thread the best place to put this; from sageadvice.eu (and @GameholeCon and Alex Kammer) high-res photos of Ed's original taped-together Realms maps:
The Forgotten Realms original map draw by Ed Greenwood! With detailed images of the most famous RPG setting
The thing that really stood out to me -- aside from finally understanding what Ed meant all those times he said how sorry he felt for anyone trying to transcribe his microscopic chicken-scratch (I see under Waterdeep it says, "inc. Undermountain .... Dungeon of the Crypt, but what's the middle part? And the note on Ardeep says "where the .... .... formed"?) -- was the Moonshae section, where you can see how he taped the "new Moonshaes" over his originals, including the excised realm of Eskember and the original placement of Flamsterd Isle. You can almost make out the original outlines underneath as well.
[ EDIT: Also, let me say once again thanks and excellent job keeping up with collating these tweets, Wooly! ]
Middle part is "the Blue Alley" and the Ardeep reference is "Where the Silver Elves are found".
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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Ed Greenwood on Twitter
