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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
 Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 04:49:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Zandilar
I just wanted to mention how deeply disappointed I am in the 4th Edition Cormyr, the backdrop of which was just published on the DDI site.
Talk about testosterone overload!
(Pre-Posting Edit: Now I've actually finished reading the article, I'm a more incensed than ever, incensed to the point of incoherence... Tymora having been flightly, flirtatious, and well Chaotic Good has been "solemn and chaste" since the death of Tyr.  I'd rail about this a bit more, but this probably isn't the place.)
I noticed that myself, and then thought about you and how disappointed you'd be.
Come to think of it, I was rather disappointed too.
The Tymora thing made me upset too--I mentioned my dismay on the WotC boards. |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
Edited by - Rinonalyrna Fathomlin on 21 Jul 2008 04:50:26 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 05:06:58
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| By the way, I enjoyed the new Cormyr lore too! |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Cato the Elder
Acolyte
5 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 07:01:11
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Ave, Ed, and THO. I have just spent the course of months lurking and reading through your compiled entries here at the Keep, and let me first say two things. One: I find it incredible that you would take the time to do all this for our sakes -- I cannot emphasize how much I appreciate it. Two: the work you have done on the Realms is also astounding, and has, in addition to giving me as a DM a ready-made campaign setting, given me countless ideas on how I should structure my own.
Now, on to questions.
Ed, could you please tell us about the history of Llorkh, especially how it was founded, any connection to Phalorm and the Kingdom of Man, and the rule of the city before the Zhentarim murdered Lord "Redblade" and moved in? The published Realms has often included Llorkh, but never as anything other than a Zhent caravan stop.
My thanks for your time. |
Moreover, I advise that Carthage should be destroyed. |
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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
254 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 16:10:51
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Zandilar's concerns where also posted at the WotC list (by Storm) and as I pointed out there, Alusair's final fate is never mentioned, so there is some hope for her... I hope we'll hear something positive in the near future.
There are of course other places in the Realms to look for powerful women - the world is a bit bigger than merely Cormyr. However Storm's comments did prompt me to re-evaluate some of the recent adventures in my care (for LFR Dalelands), and prompt the authors to more carefully consider gender.
Male authors do tend to have the X-tagonists male (though, if it helps, I have a tendency to make them female), and it can't hurt to occasionally be reminded of it.
As to Tymora: her state of mind could be more due to a certain responsibility she feels for Tyr's death rather than some slavish devotion or the mourning of a ever-faithful lover. Maybe Besheba has threatened to curse/kill all her lovers, and this is why she is forced to take a distance?
I hope Ed soon is allowed to shed some light on 4th ed NPCs and locales.
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Broken Helm
Learned Scribe
USA
108 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 17:43:10
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Hi. Quick question for Ed or THO: if my PC is travelling in the Dales, how likely is he to be able to buy new strings for a lute, hand-harp, or yarting (guitar) in a given dale? I'd figure you can get strings for bows (archery) no problem, but . . .
And where are these strings actually made? Sembia?
Thanks. |
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Longtime Lurker
Seeker
51 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 17:49:51
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Actually, Zandilar, I'm looking forward to playing in Cormyr right after the dates covered in GRAND HISTORY, without having published products crash in on top of the "history" my game develops.
My wife read the same web article you did, and said, "Pfft! Well, THAT was written by a guy, right? No fair ones in sight!"
So the thought arises: you can pretend that the official 4e hundred-years-hence article you're reading was written by a misogynistic Palace scribe, who leaves out or glosses over the important women and their deeds and influence. So it's "slanted history," with as unreliable a narrator as (ahem) Volo.
And here at the Keep, Ed can give us the real goods. I'm not saying you have to give WotC one dime for the new 4e stuff if you don't want to. SOME scribe will, and will tell us what books have the good stuff in them, and something about what it is, and you as DM can just take the ideas and make them your own without buying the "official" design.
That's what I'm going to do, anyway. My wife and her three lady friends (my best players) aren't going to like a old-boys-club Cormyr, and if I don't please them, that's the heart of my campaign gone, right there.
As Ed has said so often, it's all about pleasing your players.
And, yes, moderators, I DO have a question for Ed. JUST post-GRAND HISTORY, are there any publicly-prominent "rising in power" noble families who'd attract a lot of attention from rebellious nobles, War Wizards, and merchants looking for investors? Thanks!
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Edited by - Longtime Lurker on 21 Jul 2008 17:51:29 |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 18:46:58
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In one of Ed's replies relatively recently, it was revealed that Alusair gave permission for the Crystal Grot to be opened to pay for the necessary economic rebuilding.
I've got questions related to that.
1) What's the annual demand for sapphires in Faerun and nearby areas, expressed in gp?
2) How much money did The Dragon Throne need to rebuild a military that had taken heavy losses (and would take more at Tilverton shortly afterwards), a destroyed Arabel and fallow fields all over the realm? Back of the envelope calculations suggests that just replacing destroyed horses and equipment and dead or discharged soldiers to build the Purple Dragons up to pre-war levels would run to a few million gold (I'm assuming that the war caused them about 30% losses; dead, injured and discharged or just destroyed equipment or dead horses). More if they want to pay reperations to the families of fallen Purple Dragons.*
*Note, it's not that I have a problem with the huge numbers, just that I'm looking for benchmarks in how much wealth is in circulation in various ports of the Inner Sea, since my PCs group operate a merchant company which recently expanded its operations hugely.
3) How many trading ships does Sembia own? Of what size are they usually? How many tons of cargo for each?
4) How much time does the typical trading voyage on the Inner Sea take? What's reckoned fast and what's considered slow? How long between Iliphir to Suzail? Between Marsember and Westgate? Westgate to Urmlaspyr? Urmlaspyr to Saerloon? Saerloon to Selgaunt? Selgaunt to Raven's Bluff? Raven's Bluff to Reth (by whatever route is most common)? Reth to Alaghôn? Alaghôn to Westgate?*
*I know I can use the movement rules to figure this out, but I those don't account for prevailing winds in the area, local routes and/or other specifics. And they don't tell me what's considered normal time for these routes in the Realms. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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dfemling
Acolyte
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 20:19:45
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| Good day THO and Ed, i would like to ask about a certain Cleric in Hills Edge, one JOYBRINGER JHANADRA CASELDOWN. I have read from Mr. Tom Costa that weredragon are now Song Dragons, my question is what is her age if possible and anything else of relevance? Also since we are visiting Hills Edge are there any details about the Proud Pegasi adventuring band? Specifically about there leader Bellara "Starcloak" Arune. Thanks for your time and great lore about the Reaching Woods :) |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 23:08:55
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Hi, all.
Great questions, Icelander. Off to Ed they've gone, but in the meantime I can respond to two of them before Ed gives you the in-depth, REAL answer.
Question 1: I have no idea what the demand for sapphires is, as adornments or magical components/spell foci, but all gemstones have another use in the Realms: as currency. Instead of staggering around under the weight of 5000 gp or so, merchants carry gems in little "don't shatter if dropped" metal boxes (a moonstone is 50 gp, and sapphire is 5000 gp). So that's the main demand, and an infinitely hungry one.
Question 3: "Sembia" owns no trading ships. SEMBIANS (individuals, highly competitive with each other) own lots of ships, of all sizes and descriptions, from tiny "fast coaster" boats through creaky fishing-boats right up to luxury yachts and the largest cogs known in Faerun. Just from my memory of Ed's notes of "what has home berths" in various Sembian harbours, their total number has to be over two thousand.
love,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2008 : 23:29:13
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Oh, and a postscript, about your "sailing times" question. I know from playing in Ed's campaign that these vary quite a bit, too, with the size of the ship. Large ships can't use the shallow near-shore areas but can carry warriors and charge through pirate-infested areas; smaller boats detour around pirate areas.
Finally, there are some small boats that don't sail out of sight of land, and would make the journeys you list by the VERY long "all around the coasts" routes.
All of which means Ed's going to have to qualify his answers greatly. 
love,
THO |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2008 : 03:09:05
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Oh, and a postscript, about your "sailing times" question. I know from playing in Ed's campaign that these vary quite a bit, too, with the size of the ship. Large ships can't use the shallow near-shore areas but can carry warriors and charge through pirate-infested areas; smaller boats detour around pirate areas.
Finally, there are some small boats that don't sail out of sight of land, and would make the journeys you list by the VERY long "all around the coasts" routes.
All of which means Ed's going to have to qualify his answers greatly.
love,
THO
Thanks a bunch.
I'm mainly looking for the typical times for the types of ships that handle the largest part of the shipping between the two cities. So, for example, if the main part of the shipping between Marsember and Westgate is handled with swift coastal runners, I want to know their times. If Raven's Bluff-Reth relies on heavily armed cogs that skirt the most dangerous parts of the Pirate Isles, I want to know how long they normally take.
If it helps, my players are currently running two light three masted ships built in Impiltur that each carry 200 tons and an experimental elven-built brigantine (in our world, we'd call it a 'clipper') that carries 10 tons and formerly served as their privateer vessel.
They've been carrying lumber from Reth and surrounding areas to Raven's Bluff (which is still rebuilding from the war) and moving various cargoes aside from that. One run was furs, originally from the Moonsea but picked up in the Vast, to the Vilhon Reach and a mix of exotic cheese, picked condiments and worked meat they picked up cheap in Lyrabar and sold in Turmish and Chondath. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2008 : 04:32:10
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Cato the Elder's sig prompts a question: who have been famous orators in Faerunian history, the sort of people whose speeches one might study as a model today. (I refer, of course, to the time pre-Chaos incursion Spellplague.
(By the way, I don't think Carthage needs to be destroyed, but the Persians must be stopped.)
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Eldacar
Senior Scribe
438 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2008 : 07:54:10
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Just thought I'd throw in a few questions that I've been musing about. Apologies if they've already been asked, or if the answer is somewhere already and I missed it. Some of the questions deal with the Knights of Myth Drannor series (which become some of my favourite Realms novels, and I'm re-reading them almost religiously). Anyway, on with the questions (though I'd imagine that THO could probably answer a couple of them as well).
1) The Knights seem to basically fall headlong from one catastrophe into another, all with a sort of reckless abandon that almost typifies the basic "novice adventurer" archetype. Well, all of them except Pennae (plans ahead) and perhaps Florin, that is. How close to the truth is that particular guess? Indeed, it's somewhat funny how they just keep on ruining well-laid plans that may have been months or years in the making, entirely as an accident. How often did everybody attempt to be cautious about things? And is it still mostly the same sort of idea now?
2) Hesperdan. Not sure if this one is covered by an NDA or not, but can any clues be given as to what he's up to? Will more detail be provided in the third Knights book?
3) Semoor Wolftooth. Entirely an out-of-FR comment, but I seem to notice a number of similarities between his attitude and that of Torm. Such as his inability to not make comments, though I still fondly recall the banter between Torm and Rathan in Spellfire, and put it almost in a class of its own.
4) How close have Vangey and Laspeera gotten in the past? She seems to enjoy being mind-reamed, but did either of them ever go any further than that? Or did Vangey just stay away from that kind of thing for some reason? (Business and pleasure, embarassment, simple preference?) He did seem to care about her quite a bit, after all.
5) Moving slightly away from the Knights of Myth Drannor books now, but still relating to the Zhentarim. Elminster has in the past interfered quite thoroughly with the Zhentarim leadership, such as his impersonation of a Beholder to stall Manshoon's bid for the "top job" that was elaborated on in one short story (Realms of Infamy). How aware is Manshoon of these various attempts (e.g. did he ever find out the truth about the aforementioned Beholder incident?), and has he ever attempted and/or succeeded at "getting payback" for it? If not on Elminster personally, then on the Harpers? (EDIT: Or other associates of Elminster that happen to be less vulnerable than the Old Mage is?) And along those lines, was his drawing away the Shadowsil (and potentially others?) linked to situations like that? After all, somebody who had once been an apprentice of Elminster's can be quite valuable for a variety of different reasons, and I can't see Manshoon as not being sly enough to pick up on the possibilities. Has he done it before?
6) What would have happened to Shandril Shessair in the Sellplague? She seemed to become something of a spirit tied to the Weave, but the Weave obviously ran into problems. I won't be using that whole series of events in "my" Realms, but I'm curious about the possibilities.
7) Lastly, how long did it take for the War Wizards to really become the force they ended up as? As in, approximately what year/century? I ask because I'm designing a character (a sort of counterpoint/old sage style character for a little project I'm fiddling with) at the moment who I'd like to insert into the War Wizards at some point in his career. If you could include the general times of founding and any sudden loss of trained War Wizards (reasons why?), too, it'd be helpful. I imagine that at times over the years, the War Wizards have lost quite a few of their number. The Cormyr: A Novel book detailed a few of what seemed to be sudden losses (the events leading to Amedahast's death, for example), but any others that aren't mentioned there would be appreciated.
(Side note: More Knights of Myth Drannor, please. Short stories, series, anything, really, just to satisfy my addiction... and keep the pages of some of my books from becoming any more dog-eared than they already are. )
Whew. Okay, I'm done. |
"The Wild Mages I have met exhibit a startling disregard for common sense, and are often meddling with powers far beyond their own control." ~Volo
"Not unlike a certain travelogue author with whom I am unfortunately acquainted." ~Elminster |
Edited by - Eldacar on 22 Jul 2008 08:03:26 |
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Zanan
Senior Scribe
Germany
942 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2008 : 08:39:41
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Vendui malla Hooded One!
Please convey my regards to Ed for his reply on Alusair! One would hope the Steel Regent and Caladnei will share a few more adventures even after they left the throne to Azoun V.
Aluve, Zanan! |
Cave quid dicis, quando et cui!
Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!
In memory of Alura Durshavin.
Visit my "Homepage" to find A Guide to the Drow NPCs of Faerûn, Drow and non-Drow PrC and much more. |
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jul 2008 : 10:36:56
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in the south, that country that doesnt like spellcaster, elves or dwarves, how did it fare after the spellplague???
and after 100 years, how is its view towards spellcasters, elves and dwarves? |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 01:33:02
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Heya,
This post answers several replies (first of all Ed's). There are questions in here, believe me.
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
<snipping quotage of myself>
Ed replies:
Hello again, Zandilar!
The Women of the Wood (or “Woods;” either form is ‘correct’ by everyday usage, and the Women themselves have no preference; some Cormyreans even speak of “the Women in the Wood” and everyone knows quite well who they’re referring to) are like any sufficiently large (that is, more than three) women or men anywhere in the Realms or the real world: though they may devotedly share a common cause or values, they see things differently from each other, may leap to different conclusions, and may well disagree violently over all sorts of things, large and small.
However, in general, the Women of the Woods as they exist “right now” (in the modern, just-pre-Spellplague Realms) are not that interested in changing the laws and customs of Cormyr. They are “outlaws” in that they pay no taxes and avoid obeying royal edicts and proclamations by hiding and “not hearing them” (forest-tree-posted edicts not favorable to them will be burned, the moment they think no authorities are near). They did begin as a fellowship of abused or exploited women (and women embittered in love) who agreed that “no man’s promises can be trusted” and that therefore no man is fit to rule - - a household, a city, or a realm, anywhere.
However, that sort of talk is rarely heard among them nowadays (with the prevalence of newcomers and the aging of the few survivors), and they have never taken any hostile action against Azoun IV or any male ruler beyond not paying taxes, eating forest game that Vangerdahast and some traditionalists believe “belongs to the king” (though Azoun and Alusair have never seen it that way; they cleave to the view that it belongs to the Crown, and therefore to whomever they [King, Queen, Prince, Princess, or Regent] allow to hunt it, and therefore nobles can’t freely hunt game except on their own lands because they are royally forbidden to do so, but everyone else can take what they need for food), and disobeying and avoiding royal edicts and agents (instead keeping to The King’s Forest, and “living wild”).
Essentially Cormyr has a peaceful tribe of Amazons living in the King's Forest. What makes these women take to the woods to live rough, rather than trying to make it on their own in the cities and towns of Cormyr? There's nothing about women that makes them predisposed towards gathering in tribes when they've been abused or dispossessed by men, or when they've been embittered by love. So there must be some reason why they would prefer living in the wild to living in civilization... Which probably boils down to what caused the first Women to head into the wilds of Cormyr in the first place - because since then they have probably just attracted women to them as legends about them grew.
The other side of this coin is thus: The men of Cormyr obviously haven't done anything on the same sort of scale (ie: no local legends about tribes consisting only of men), have they?
quote:
By the way, the status quo in Cormyr is by no means as male-slanted as one might think. Adult men and women are full and equal voting citizens and property owners, and inheritance rules are very egalitarian among “common folk,” whereas among nobles - - and the royals - - they vary, being specific to each family.
<snip interesting information about inheritance in Cormyr>
But the tendency of the nobility and royalty is to favour the first born son, as we've seen. If Foril (the assassinated lad in the current timeline, not the King in the future) had been the second born and survived (with Tanalasta also surviving the assassination, assuming they would have tried for her had she been first born), would he have been Crown Prince? My instinct says it is likely.
The next few paragraphs of your reply were quite enlightening. There is obviously some (not necessarily a lot, though, but enough) bias against women in Cormyr, if there's a question about whether or not their rights might be slighted under the law, and that women can be treated badly with no recourse other than to run away (or take matters into their own hands somehow).
To change the subject just briefly, you also mentioned that some people in Cormyr (I suppose it would go for men as well as women) know that if they need help, they can contact the Harpers. Is this a common thing to do for the common people? Do Harpers travel openly in Cormyr? (They must, or how would anyone know they're Harpers except by rumour (which often is inaccurate)?)
quote:
As for Caladnei, she has done some covert mind-reading (NOT “reaming,” which she abhors and avoids whenever possible) from afar, enough to make sure that the Women aren’t a cutthroat band of outlaws. Wronged women taking their revenges she can understand and even sympathize with (turning a blind eye, officially, to some of their deeds), and she has far larger and nastier problems to deal with (like wealthy noble families doing their darndest to mess up the Steel Regency and the general happiness and loyalty of the citizenry, demonize the War Wizards and the Obarskyrs, and foment trouble and hatred against Sembians or rival nobles or men with blue eyes or whatever whim has taken them to seethe about THIS particular tenday).
Inwardly, Caladnei (like Laspeera) sneakily admires and to some extent envies the Women in the Wood for “making their own way” in life, getting out of the Cormyrean daily Court ‘rat race.’ (The Suzailan term for our real-world term ‘rat race’ is “the pomp and round,” by the way.)
So she largely leaves the Women alone, assigning experienced War Wizards (often females, and definitely not any known to mistrust or dislike women) to use magic to spy on them occasionally, but to leave them be if nothing amiss is discovered. If such an ‘observer’ is curious about anything and wants to “go in” for a better look, Caladnei has given standing orders that they are to ask for assistance (backup wizards, plus a ranger or two, hopefully female) AND report what they’re doing, to her or Laspeera, BEFORE they go. (It follows that other Wizards of War will be assigned to farscry their foray, and make sure they don’t use their magic or status inappropriately.)
Why doesn't this surprise me? I've liked Caladnei since the day I first read about her in the FRCS. It's such a shame she's been largely skipped over by this 100 year leap. I'd like to know a bit more about the events of Cormyr between the end of 3e and the start of 4e, and would definitely like to know what happens to Caladnei. However, I suspect I know the answer will be something on the lines of "we're leaving it all intentionally vague for DMs to make up as they go along, with knowledge of what the endpoint is to help guide the events of individual campaigns." (Which means that stuff won't turn out the way this new information on Cormyr implies, because I don't want it to, obviously.)
I'd like to think that eventually Caladnei might join Alusair on her "ride into legend"...
quote:
Yes, the Women of the Woods include a few sorcerers, at least one wizard, and a cleric of Selune [sorry about the lack of accent mark there; I have some technical problems with my ISP about preserving diacriticals, in transfer to the lovely THO], all of them of low level.
In terms of names and “unusuals,” here we go:
<snip descriptions>
Thank you! Such wonderful information, that I'm sure might come in handy... And even if it doesn't, makes for some interesting reading anyway.
quote:
• Maerla Hamaeryl (tiefling female Rog3/Wiz4) is burly, and except for her blazing eyes and two tiny stubs of forehead horns that are well-hidden under her copious tangle of long red hair), she looks almost entirely human - - like many a strapping backlands Cormyrean farm lass, in fact. She is restless, and often goes on long walks to work off the anger that rises in her for days. As a result, she loves combat, as it gives her a chance to let it out - - and that means fist to fist and blade to blade, not merely hurling spells from afar.
I do have a question about this one, though, as regards to her race. As you know, 4th Edition has changed Tieflings completely. Their backstory has changed, and rather than being essentially a human descended from some demonic or devilish union far back in their family tree, they seem to be a race of actual half devils. If I were to adopt the 4th Edition rules (using the current timeline), would she still be a tiefling (obviously fiendish heritage, with prominent horns, and a tail nearly as long as she is tall)? Or would her race be human and her fiendish features merely a cosmetic throwback?
(The current campaign is not going to switch over to 4e Rules as it would be almost impossible with the current party composition - they have a bard (NPC), a changeling sorcerer (NPC), an arcane elven (custom race that belongs to Cresan, the world they came from) druid/sorcerer/arcane hierophant, and a half celestial arcane elven Crusader... As you can see, this would be difficult to convert given the currently available classes and races... So even if the players wanted me to, I probably couldn't do it.) {EDIT: I missed the half copper dragon arcane elven beguiler/unseen seer!}
Snipping information about Thunderswords and the wanna-be nobility who have taken up residence in the old Cormaeril estate...
Those wanna be nobles will be quite useful, I think. I can see lots of plot hooks coming from just that one place in Immersea alone.  I suppose it depends on which plots the party leader (the druid/sorcerer/arcane hierophant) latches on to... He has a tendency of somehow reading my mind and skipping to the most important plot with a single minded efficiency. That's how they ended up finishing what I was intending to be an epic campaign (epic in scope and epic in level by the end) by the time they were level 12 or so...
Anyway, on to the Thunderswords...
It was my intention for one of the daughters to be kidnapped by the High Hunt as their next victim. Maurara seems to be the most likely one - Chansaera (and the nieces you've mentioned) is (are) in the wrong place(s) for my campaign, and Delphaera could defend herself too well... Though I suppose if the High Hunt wanted a challenge for their hunting, she'd be the ideal one.
If I were a member of the High Hunt how would I go about kidnapping Maurara? How about Delphaera? (Delphaera, I'm thinking, might easily be tricked and trapped by the High Hunt by simply dropping rumors of some adventure she could have, and ambush her when she gets where they want her to go - sleeping poison from a blow gun might get her. Or maybe merely overwhelming her with numbers.)
I have a vague idea I might frame the party for it, and have them race against time to rescue the kidnapped daughter, while being chased by Purple Dragons and War Wizards and anyone else the Thunderswords might hire... That might not work so well though... Hmm...
The reason I'm picking on a female member of the Thunderswords is that I'd like them to meet with the Women of the Wood. So maybe I'm over engineering things?
The Thunderswords also seem to be a rich place to find plot hooks... I can see the party staying in Cormyr for quite some time... And another piece of the puzzle falls into place, I now know how I'm going to give them the push to get to Elversult when they need to be there... Which actually leads me into another question...
What is the relationship between Cormyr and Elversult, if any? Is Elversult the sort of place the Crown might send an envoy?
quote:
As for your reaction, posted here, to the 4e Cormyr backdrop piece, I understand. And sympathize.
Let me just say this much: Brian (and behind the scenes, Garen Thal and to a small extent, yours truly) had the task of tracing, inventing, and convincingly writing down “what happened” to link “what we know of Cormyr now” [as in, pre-Spellplague, though we never got the chance to do a 3e sourcebook, and as all scribes know, enough lore was amassed and even assembled to readily do one] and “what we know of Cormyr nigh a century later.” In other words, the “new status quo” the article had to arrive at was written in-house. I, too, lifted my eyebrows at the paucity of strong female characters. Not at Alusair riding off (a regency has to end somehow, and what has been said in print thus far is true to her individual character), but at the lack of much of anyone else prominent in the local Cormyrean picture who is female.
I didn't think Alusair's regency would last forever, but I didn't think it would end so soon either. Maybe it's just me seeing Cormyr through modern eyes, but age 13 seems just a bit too young for my liking (why not 16?). I'm not all that upset that she rode off into legend, it's a fitting end (or rather, beginning) to one such as her.
What I am upset about is that there are no women at all mentioned in positions of power. Those who are mentioned in the article are usually mentioned as merely being "the daughter of x, or the wife of y"... In other words, only as related to the men.
We've gone from being spoiled for choice as far as powerful females in Cormyr go, to having none at all. For a company that is ostensibly trying to attract new female gamers, they're going about it the wrong way. I know it's too late to change anything now, but I just want to register my dissatisfaction about the whole deal. I suppose I should write to WotC about it, but I don't even know who to start with.
quote:
However, I and some others have some fiction plans that will hopefully touch on the “new” Cormyr. If or when they come to fruition, I hope to be able to post here a message for you to the effect that there’ll then be something you can enjoy in the later Cormyr.
I'll definitely keep an eye out.
When I get a better idea of the 4e Rules, I plan to slowly start converting the current timeline. I might post the conversions to my blog.
quote:
Until then, I am quite happy to answer lore replies here about the older Cormyr, and provide lore like this for you and everyone to deepen (I hope) your enjoyment of the Realms. Your campaign need not make the big time-move if you don’t want to; how much or how quickly the Spellplague affects a particular locale is up to you (for a decade or more of in-game time it can easily be “bad news from elsewhere,” happening offstage). It’s YOUR campaign; as I have said for years, don’t let anything published ruin the fun for you and your players.
One of the first things I'll probably change about the future timeline is the presence of the spellplague. It's not likely to happen if Mystra doesn't die... I have a hard time accepting that Cyric can slip into Dweomerheart without detection to kill Mystra... even with Shar's aid*. The spellplague is the root of my problem with the future Realms.
My future Realms will look very different to the new Realms canon.
(* Even if Cyric still managed to succeed in killing Mystra, I have a hard time accepting the idea that Shar could somehow prevent the rise of a new Mystra. It seems that somehow Shar has the powers of Ao in this new Realms.)
quote:
For instance, let us suppose your players WANTED to move to the later, post-Spellplague Realms, and play in Cormyr. Right, we’ve said very little about the noble families of this “newer” time (other than that the Goldfeathers were restored). You could easily, without contradicting any lore (caveat: there may be something in the forthcoming FRCG that would contradict this, OR contradict what I’ve just said about no strong female Cormyrean characters being evident in the Cormyr of the 4e Realms), make the current heads of all the major noble houses be female. ALL of them. You could even have some of them putting intense pressure on the Crown to provide female envoys and female courtiers in dealings, either as a deliberate move to advance the status of females or just as the mass effect of personal preferences of said matriarchs - - or far that matter, the Obarskyrs who aren’t married yet to be paired off with their daughters, some of whom could be VERY strong-minded, and have up their sleeves all sorts of plans for legal changes they might make in the realm once they were in the Royal Palace, to change the status and role of women).
Other gamers might roll their eyes at all of this, but again, we’re talking about YOUR campaign. Do what you want; the seeming “lighter level of detail” we’ve seen in the 4e Realms thus far would seem to allow you far more freedom to do that without having to worry about “straying from canon.”
Interesting idea. Could make for a very interesting Cormyr. Though I think just most of the major noble families with female heads might be enough, rather than all. I wouldn't want to go too far the other way. Equality of the sexes is the goal, after all.
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As always, I hope this is of help.
Much help. Thank you so much.
*bows respectfully, then hugs Ed*
*hugs THO for good measure*
quote:
Originally posted by gomez
Zandilar's concerns where also posted at the WotC list (by Storm) and as I pointed out there, Alusair's final fate is never mentioned, so there is some hope for her... I hope we'll hear something positive in the near future.
I'm Storm_Silverhand on the WotC forums (even says in my sig "poster formerly known as Zandilar"). I changed my name when the changes to the Realms started to happen. Zandilar is an obscure name, while Storm Silverhand is quite a well known figure in the Realms (as well as being my favorite Chosen),
Anyway, Alusair, whether she's alive or not in the New Realms, cannot be counted as a figure of power. She gave it up so her nephew should be King (which is not a bad thing, mind you). At best she's a legend that people tell tall tales about in taverns.
To bring this back to asking Ed questions: If events had unfolded differently (if Azoun V had been stillborn or had died in childhood or even never existed at all), what sort of a Queen would Alusair have made?
Also, two questions for the canon Realms:
1) Can you give us any indication at all of what became of Caladnei? It seems she really got the short end of the stick as far as all of this goes. (I believe I have kind of asked this question earlier in the post, but I responded to this first before I wrote the above reply to Ed... Ah the wonders of modern technology!)
2) The other question is: is Ganarahast the son of Myrmeen and Vangerdahast, or is he the son of that child?
quote:
Originally posted by Longtime Lurker
Actually, Zandilar, I'm looking forward to playing in Cormyr right after the dates covered in GRAND HISTORY, without having published products crash in on top of the "history" my game develops.
That's my plan too. The current game I'm running may well have a profound impact on the timeline. I'm planning for them to start by preventing the casting of Aumanator's Eternal Sun over Elversult. (Does anyone really think that Yanseldara and Vaerana will sit on their behinds twiddling their thumbs while this heretic of Lathander has his way with their city? Not I.) But that's a plot for the future, once they get to Epic Level (currently they're in their low teens, still adapting to this strange new world they've found themselves in (well all right, the other world was high magic fantasy too, so all they really need to do is adopt native gods and learn the language)). |
Zandilar
~amor vincit omnia~
~audaces fortuna iuvat~
As the spell ends, you look up into the sky to see the sun blazing overhead like noon in a desert. Then something else in the sky catches your attention. Turning your gaze, you see a tawny furred kitten bounding across the sky towards the new sun. Her eyes glint a mischevious green as she pounces on it as if it were nothing but a colossal ball of golden yarn. With quick strokes of her paws, it is batted across the sky, back and forth. Then with a wink the kitten and the sun disappear, leaving the citizens of Elversult gazing up with amazed expressions that quickly turn into chortles and mirth.
The Sunlord left Elversult the same day in humilitation, and was never heard from again. |
Edited by - Zandilar on 23 Jul 2008 04:15:11 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 01:58:49
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Heh. Zandilar, you can hug me ANYtime. 
(Down, boys . . .)
Your post has been sent on to Ed. The last paragraph made me laugh, because Steven Schend (who really should tell this one himself; I'm sure to get the details wrong) has a "my favourite unintentional double entendre" story, when he wrote for a Realms sourcebook that a certain well-known Realms character would "sit on his hands, twiddling his thumbs." Ahem. His female editor had a good laugh at that one.
love,
THO |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 02:06:31
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Hey Ed and THO,
The music discussion in Erik's thread reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask you two.
Have either of you ever met the guys of Moxy Fruvious? |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 06:25:32
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Dear Lady Hooded,
Could you ask Ed if he has considered using his basement's unpublished home campaign realms notes to create a brand new setting? I mean, anything that's scribbled on a napkin in his basement, which has not been turned into official lore for TSR/WotC, is basically still Ed's baby right?
Obviously the new setting would have to be largely different from the known Realms... but anything high magic semi-medieval fantasy would see me happy, as long as it's from Ed. I mean if some corporate heads have decided that a Realms reset was required, why not beat them at their own game, use their "knowledge" that something new is now (moneywise) better than something old, and make a brand new setting, perhaps in collaboration with Paizo? 
I have a premisce for Ed too, if he so desires to use it:
"At the beginning there was nothing. The void. Then seven blue stars shot out of a tear in the fabric of the cosmos, and filled that void. The all powerful Goddess of Magic had arrived, and she suffused life into that emptiness. Rumor has it that she came from another, distant world, sacrificing herself over there to begin anew over here."
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 10:31:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Eldacar
1) The Knights seem to basically fall headlong from one catastrophe into another, all with a sort of reckless abandon that almost t
3) Semoor Wolftooth. Entirely an out-of-FR comment, but I seem to notice a number of similarities between his attitude and that of Torm.
4) How close have Vangey and Laspeera gotten in the past? He did seem to care about her quite a bit, after all.
5) Elminster has in the past interfered quite thoroughly with the Zhentarim leadership, How aware is Manshoon of these various attempts
7) Lastly, how long did it take for the War Wizards to really become the force they ended up as? As in, approximately what year/century?
Just my take on a few things.
1) Yes the Knights do run into one problem after another. That is the way Ed runs his games with lots of plots, sub plot and sub-sub plots happening all the time. His world is not static, so the 'bad guys' are not just sitting around on their hands twiddling their thumbs (to quote SES and THO ). They are involved in lots of things, things that nosey adventurers just happen to blunder into to....... That is the art of Dm'ing, making the 'villians' real and interesting and breathing life into them.
3) Victor Selby played both Semoor Wolftooth (who latter became Jelde Asturian when he was 'reborn' as a full ranked priest) and Torm. So the similarities ae not too suprising. IIRC a few of Ed's players 'retired' their Kinghts characters sometime after they became Lords of Shadowdale and took up new characters to adventure with (Doust/Rathan as well).
4) Your are right Vangy does care for Speera. IMHO this is because he has found another wizard he can trust. Not simply trust to do their job, but trust them to be loyal and discreet and to challenge him on the 'grey areas' he gets into to with reasoned thought and arguements, not just "this is wrong Vangy, stop!". He respects her opinion, her duty, and her intellect. He perhaps also sees her as his conscience, the good wizard he would like to be but can't be, because the security of the Cormyr comes first and the 'ends justify the means'. I believe that he does trust Speera with body and soul and she would be one of the few people he can be totally comfortable and relaxed around (in other words he trusts her with his life and knows she would never betray him to further her own ambitions). This trust between Wizards is unsual, so he hangs on to Speera as a friend, confidant and colleague with an iron grip. He needs her, though he probably would not admit it!
5) Manshoon is a bright lad, he knows that El, Storm et al are thwarting his plans over and over again. He is also bright enough to realise that they could, if they wanted to, utterly destroy him. I believe that he is also clever enough to realise that Mystra's hand is forestalling his doom.
All wizards know that she extends her cloak over all wizards (good and evil) as long as they are doing her will (creating new spells, extending magic use in Faerun etc). He knows that he can continue in his schemes as long as he doesn't step over the line, at which point someone arrives and stops him. Of course being Manshoon, this line is forever being tested for its flexibility, so now and again another clone comes into life.......
7) Excellent question, would love to know that myself!
Cheers
Damian |
So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 15:33:54
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Hello again, all. Ed has chosen to answer Eldacar’s Knights of Myth Drannor (and other) questions now (probably because he’s been thinking about our fictional iterations recently, though he long ago turned in the completed THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS, and corrected the final galleys).
You can see from these words that Damian’s (crazedventurers) replies, which Ed hadn’t seen when he penned what follows, are basically spot-on.
Oh, and Kuje, I’d not call either Ed nor myself Fruheads (sorry for the lack of umlaut there), but I know Ed has all of their CDs, enjoys their music, has attended some of their earlier gigs (in Toronto bars and clubs) and has met Jian Ghomeshi (he whom George Stroumboulopoulos, now of CBC’s The Hour, famously said: “He has the eyes of an Egyptian princess”).
Here, for the hard-of-scrolling, are Eldacar’s queries: “Just thought I'd throw in a few questions that I've been musing about. Apologies if they've already been asked, or if the answer is somewhere already and I missed it. Some of the questions deal with the Knights of Myth Drannor series (which become some of my favourite Realms novels, and I'm re-reading them almost religiously). Anyway, on with the questions (though I'd imagine that THO could probably answer a couple of them as well).
1) The Knights seem to basically fall headlong from one catastrophe into another, all with a sort of reckless abandon that almost typifies the basic "novice adventurer" archetype. Well, all of them except Pennae (plans ahead) and perhaps Florin, that is. How close to the truth is that particular guess? Indeed, it's somewhat funny how they just keep on ruining well-laid plans that may have been months or years in the making, entirely as an accident. How often did everybody attempt to be cautious about things? And is it still mostly the same sort of idea now?
2) Hesperdan. Not sure if this one is covered by an NDA or not, but can any clues be given as to what he's up to? Will more detail be provided in the third Knights book?
3) Semoor Wolftooth. Entirely an out-of-FR comment, but I seem to notice a number of similarities between his attitude and that of Torm. Such as his inability to not make comments, though I still fondly recall the banter between Torm and Rathan in Spellfire, and put it almost in a class of its own.
4) How close have Vangey and Laspeera gotten in the past? She seems to enjoy being mind-reamed, but did either of them ever go any further than that? Or did Vangey just stay away from that kind of thing for some reason? (Business and pleasure, embarassment, simple preference?) He did seem to care about her quite a bit, after all.
5) Moving slightly away from the Knights of Myth Drannor books now, but still relating to the Zhentarim. Elminster has in the past interfered quite thoroughly with the Zhentarim leadership, such as his impersonation of a Beholder to stall Manshoon's bid for the "top job" that was elaborated on in one short story (Realms of Infamy). How aware is Manshoon of these various attempts (e.g. did he ever find out the truth about the aforementioned Beholder incident?), and has he ever attempted and/or succeeded at "getting payback" for it? If not on Elminster personally, then on the Harpers? (EDIT: Or other associates of Elminster that happen to be less vulnerable than the Old Mage is?) And along those lines, was his drawing away the Shadowsil (and potentially others?) linked to situations like that? After all, somebody who had once been an apprentice of Elminster's can be quite valuable for a variety of different reasons, and I can't see Manshoon as not being sly enough to pick up on the possibilities. Has he done it before?
6) What would have happened to Shandril Shessair in the Sellplague? She seemed to become something of a spirit tied to the Weave, but the Weave obviously ran into problems. I won't be using that whole series of events in "my" Realms, but I'm curious about the possibilities.
7) Lastly, how long did it take for the War Wizards to really become the force they ended up as? As in, approximately what year/century? I ask because I'm designing a character (a sort of counterpoint/old sage style character for a little project I'm fiddling with) at the moment who I'd like to insert into the War Wizards at some point in his career. If you could include the general times of founding and any sudden loss of trained War Wizards (reasons why?), too, it'd be helpful. I imagine that at times over the years, the War Wizards have lost quite a few of their number. The Cormyr: A Novel book detailed a few of what seemed to be sudden losses (the events leading to Amedahast's death, for example), but any others that aren't mentioned there would be appreciated.
(Side note: More Knights of Myth Drannor, please. Short stories, series, anything, really, just to satisfy my addiction... and keep the pages of some of my books from becoming any more dog-eared than they already are. )
Whew. Okay, I'm done.”
Ed replies:
Hi, Eldacar. Okay, to answer your questions in order:
1. Yes, the Knights ARE reckless, naïve novices in these books, with, as you say, the exceptions of the veteran Pennae and Florin (who always TRIES to consider the wider implications of actions, though often he’s too inexperienced/ignorant of the wider Realms to do a good job, and even more often his fellow Knights charge ahead and make his ponderings moot/too late.
However, it should also be obvious that when in Cormyr, they get manipulated a LOT by intriguing nobles, courtiers, Vangey, and nigh everyone else they meet, so as to send them crashing into the intrigues and doings of rivals, so the frying-pan-fire-frying-pan cycle isn’t entirely of their own making. :}
Once they settled into Shadowdale, they did start to get a lot more cautious (talking strategy with Storm at her farmhouse often, for one thing), and they’re a lot less reckless now.
2. Beyond what I’ve already revealed here at the Keep (on earlier occasions; THO tells me my earlier reply to George Krashos has been dredged up here recently), I can’t reveal much more about Hesperdan (unfinished business = NDAs still in force). THE SWORD NEVER SLEEPS might have some very brief Hesperdan scenes, if they survive the editing, but not enough to really tell you much more about him. Sorry. :}
3. Yes, Semoor Wolftooth (who later took the name Jelde Asturien, as is usual with priests of his faith advancing to a certain rank) is quite similar to Torm (who of course you see briefly in these three Knights books; his future best friend and fellow Knight Rathan gets the same treatment). They are alike not to fulfill some archetype or to copy each other or any other character (some gamers have commented that he’s similar to Belkar Bitterleaf of Rich Burlew’s The Order of the Stick), but because (starting back in 1978) Victor Selby played both characters, Semoor first (then Torm after Jelde retired from adventuring to more devoutly serve his god in other ways) - - and played them that way. Often annoying as heck, but also great fun and an integral part of the chemistry of the Knights. The Sarcastic Tongue That Is Never Stilled (as Ian Hunter, who played the Knight and druid Lanseril Snowmantle, once dubbed Torm) was just “part of us all.” I would LOVE the chance to do more of that repartee, but we’ll just have to see if I get any opportunities.
4. Vangey and Laspeera are very old, very close friends. They truly trust each other, and Vangerdahast has ached with lust for her on many occasions in the past, but forced himself to go no farther, for two reasons: she was very fond of him, but NOT interested in anything more intimate, and able to gently make that clear; and he valued having such a trusted friend so much (he has almost no friends nor any other sort of folk he feels he can trust, remember) that eventually he vowed inwardly that he would do NOTHING to damage their relationship.
So mind-to-mind nigh-orgasm is as close as it’s every gone. Yes, they have seen each other naked, kissed, embraced, patted each other’s shoulders and even behinds occasionally in a friendly, teasing manner, and on various occasions carried each other’s unconscious and partially-clad bodies around [usually hurrying them to healing], in the course of being “fellow soldiers in the same cause.” Only more Puritanical cultures (such as, ahem, modern America) insist on seeing all of that behaviour as inevitably signifying intercourse or an ongoing affair (whereas, for instance, you can stand on a nude beach in France chatting with unclad members of the opposite sex, and even cuddling with them or jokingly slapping, tickling, or towel-flicking, and it is NOT automatically seen by others as sexual play that must inevitably “go all the way,” and not NECESSARILY by the participants as anything more than carefree, fun flirtation).
So they DO care for each other very much. Laspeera admires Vangerdahast immensely for what he does for Cormyr, the ongoing political games he plays year after year that have made Azoun IV’s reign the golden age that it largely was - - and Vangerdahast regards Laspeera a bit like the little sister he never had but wishes he did, a little like a mother figure, and something like the sexy camp councillor he can never have but can admire from a distance . . . and so on.
They both acquired other partners in the end, but their relationship wasn’t about bed partners, it was about working partners (“you guard my back; I’ll guard yours”).
This is something I’ve tried very hard to do down the years, in Realms fiction: show the wide variety and subtleties of relationships, and how they change over time, so they aren’t always the obvious ones we expect from Hollywood and the Brothers Grimm and classic fantasy fiction. Sometimes I’m hampered in that by editors changing a few words here and there and thereby ending up with the printed result suggesting different meanings than I intended, and sometimes I’m hampered by the attitudes and baggage readers bring to the material. Such as all the “Elminster’s a dirty old man who MUST be bonking the Seven, which is sick because he raised them” reactions, which entirely miss the point of: so how do guys and gals who have been alive for centuries relate to each other? Aside from the goddess they serve, who’s to judge them, when they’ve outlived KINGDOMS (and the laws and attitudes of those lands, too)? And so on. I’m not saying there’s anything “right” or “wrong” (or “normal,” for that matter) in the relationship between Vangerdahast and Laspeera (although I AM suggesting that readers shouldn’t unthinkingly apply modern real-world wherever-they-live moral and legal standards to what is, after all, clearly a fantasy world and imaginary characters in it). I’m just describing what that relationship is, warts, subtleties, changes, and all. :}
5. Manshoon is aware of about a tenth of what Elminster has done (because Elminster does those obvious, unsubtle things to distract attention from the subtler, slower manipulations he also works, which usually have greater impact because they change Zhent attitudes over time). Manshoon SUSPECTS the truth about the beholder incident, but is too busy to deem trying to root out all the details to ever be worth it.
Manshoon is far too subtle and far-thinking (and busy!) to engage in petty revenges; he does whatever will advance his aims, cold-bloodedly - - so he may aid, elevate, and praise someone he knows has done him dirty if doing so will further the strivings he’s engaged in. In this, he’s like Elminster; they are both far more “mature” and far-thinking than the average Faerunian. (Elminster doesn’t care if folk thing he’s crazy or a meddling, bumbling old fool because they judge him by those obvious wham-slam deeds, and entirely miss the more subtle stuff; Elminster is centuries past caring about his own reputation; like Manshoon, he cares only about results. [Which allows me, with both characters as with Vangerdahast and the various moral positions of the Seven, to explore the eternal “Do ends justify the means?” debate.])
So Manshoon will rarely “get back at” someone through their allies, unless deliberately trying to goad that someone into stepping forth or doing something specific (because the allies might end up being useful to him later, in some other scheme, and because one shouldn’t needlessly make enemies, so harming Harpers to get back at Elminster he would regard as foolish, though he might well harm them for all sorts of other reasons). Manshoon has learned the hard way (as I’ve shown in CROWN OF FIRE and elsewhere) the folly of trying to face down Elminster in direct face-to-face spellhurling duels.
Yes, the chance to use the knowledge of the Shadowsil was a great attraction to him, and he has indeed done this sort of thing (befriending or taking as lovers powerful and interesting females from whom he can learn much) before, though not multiple times with former apprentices of Elminster . . . because Elminster just hasn’t had that many apprentices who would have anything willingly to do with Manshoon, or that he’d dare to try to get that close to. :}
6. NDA, sorry. “Creatures of the Weave” (spirits) could be destroyed, driven mad, or mutated into monsters (or forced into already-living monster or intelligent race bodies) by the Spellplague, but they could have “suffered” more benign fates, too. Some DID survive. So those are the possibilities, but I’m afraid I can’t speak specifically about Shandril at this time.
7. The answer to this really depends on how you view the War Wizards. You could say centuries, or you could say that Vangerdahast refurbished them so extensively that the “all-powerful spy service” War Wizards we think of really began with him.
The long career of the Wizards of War is largely NDA’d (I’m sure you can appreciate the usefulness to any Realms author of being able to “set up a new character whose motivations were rooted in the past” or - - as Troy did with most of the ghazneths - - even exist now after they had lives back “then”), so I’m afraid I can’t run down the long history of the War Wizards pointing out where they took heavy losses, suffered defections, and so on. It really doesn’t matter, because nobles and their agents, monarchs and their agents, and foreign powers such as Sembia and THEIR agents, can “take down” a War Wizard (aside from the heads of the organization, whose fates we know) whenever you as DM need them to. Various minor revolts (Arabel, Marsember, this or that cabal of nobles) were going on all the time, and every one of them can have a War Wizards body count. So can “monster raids out of the Stonelands” and “hungry wolves in winter” (and every severe winter CAUSING lots of both of those sorts of depredations).
Believe me, I’d love to say a lot more about the War Wizards, but I can see what doing so would jeopardize, so: sorry on this one.
As for more Knights of Myth Drannor: believe me, we are of one mind on this! I do not, and never have had, the power to solely decide what I’ll write a novel about, or when and where I can get a short story published, so it’s not entirely up to me, but the Knights are (though I named and gave back stories to most of them) my friends’ (longtime players’) characters, are near and dear to me, and I would happily tell endless tales of their exploits.
So saith Ed. Creator of the Knights, the Realms, Cormyr, the War Wizards, and Uncle Tom Cob - - ahem.
love to all,
THO
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 15:41:58
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I'd just like to thank Ed once again for the awesome Realmslore he's been posting these last few weeks. I can see another Women of the Wood followup coming, I know I can.
However, I do have yet another question. No hurries, no worries on this one, just "whenever."
I know Silverymoon has Harpers galore and lots of ardent admirers of Alustriel. Does it have (however small or undercover) an equivalent to either the War Wizards or the Highknights of Cormyr? An official, salaried Court organization, I mean, as opposed to an unofficial secret society bunch of friends who try to handle the same concerns (or does it have one of/some of those, too?)
Gods, the Realms is a great, detailed setting!
BB |
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Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1120 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 15:56:16
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Lady Hooded, send to Ed my great thanks! The answers about the Women of the Woods came in the right time. I´m preparing to start a brand new campaign in Cormyr (one tenday after the Death of the Dragon, but using the 4th Edition Rules).
After a long study, I decided to focus the campaign in Dhedlukh, and was preparing some stuff about the local organizations (the officials, and one or other that I´m creating). So, this two answers about Vandara make me a very happy DM. |
Dwarf, DM, husband, and proud of this! :P
twitter: @yuripeixoto
Facebook: yuri.peixoto |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 16:01:50
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Dear Lady.
Sorry to add to Eds workload, but I am curious. What changes would you do to the Five Shires if they were to be incorporated in the Realms? Except for the obvious with names and such of course. I have placed them in Sunset vale in my own game (Luiren is a bit out of the way)long ago, but I am still curious as to how much Ed sees the hin he created there in comparison to those of the Realms.
Just for the record, I am still using the older versions of halflings.
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Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 22:56:06
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THO,
George let it slip on another scroll that yesterday was Ed's birthday. Please convey my congratulations on whatever age it is that he as achieved. I will not be so impolite as to try and guess what age that might be...
--Hawkins |
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Edited by - Hawkins on 23 Jul 2008 22:57:11 |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 23:50:15
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quote:
Originally posted by HawkinstheDM
THO,
George let it slip on another scroll that yesterday was Ed's birthday. Please convey my congratulations on whatever age it is that he as achieved. I will not be so impolite as to try and guess what age that might be...
--Hawkins
Yes, Happy Birthday to Ed! |
"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time) |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jul 2008 : 23:52:54
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| Indeed! Happy Birthday to Ed, and thanks again for giving us all such a wonderful present! |
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jul 2008 : 01:21:23
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Hi, all. Ed says thank you, and that he has no secrets from Keep scribes: he is (now, just) 49.
Which makes me {gulp, wheeze} . . . NO, that CAN'T be right!
I'm 21, officer, a naughty, nudXXX new TWENTY-ONE! (Bats lashes, smiles, strikes provocative pose) Don't you BELIEVE me? Am I going to have to pout? Yes?
Well, as Ed says, you're only as old as the one who feels you . . . oops. Ahem. Oh, BAT cookies!
love to all,
THO |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 24 Jul 2008 01:45:14 |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jul 2008 : 02:12:54
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Happy Birthday Ed!  |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2008)
Topic Locked
