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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 16:24:24
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Ardashir
My apologies for asking this, but...
I asked a question of Mister Greenwood a couple of months back on this list, and have yet to relocate it. Does anyone know if he was able to get to it yet, and if so, where the answer is?
Thanks muchly for any help.
Do you remember what your question was about? If so, it'll make it easier for me to check through the archives.
It had to do with how and why local non-evil cultures and governments (like Cormyr or the Dales) tolerated openly evil, especially Chaotic Evil, religions working nearby such as Malar's. Doesn't it leasd to some friction, at the very least?
That was the gist of it as I recall.
And I'm sorry it took me so long to get back here and answer you, sir. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 17:09:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Ardashir
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Ardashir
My apologies for asking this, but...
I asked a question of Mister Greenwood a couple of months back on this list, and have yet to relocate it. Does anyone know if he was able to get to it yet, and if so, where the answer is?
Thanks muchly for any help.
Do you remember what your question was about? If so, it'll make it easier for me to check through the archives.
It had to do with how and why local non-evil cultures and governments (like Cormyr or the Dales) tolerated openly evil, especially Chaotic Evil, religions working nearby such as Malar's. Doesn't it leasd to some friction, at the very least?
That was the gist of it as I recall.
And I'm sorry it took me so long to get back here and answer you, sir.
A quick search of my archives didn't reveal any answer from Ed on the matter. 'Tis likely it's still to be answered by the Bearded One. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 19:16:59
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Well, I'm obviously not Ed, but I'd guess Ed's answer is going to point you at the fact that everybody in the Realms "believes in" ALL of the gods, so a government, regardless of alignment (and what gov't, beyond an absolute tyranny or tightly-ruled theocracy, ever really is just one alignment, anyway?), would never think of NOT tolerating a religion. Covertly working against its agents and devout followers who follow clerics' commands over local laws, yes.
That's the way I'd DM it, anyway.
BB |
Edited by - Blueblade on 13 Sep 2008 19:18:45 |
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Broken Helm
Learned Scribe
USA
108 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 19:37:32
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Hmmm, yeah, Blueblade; all the exceptions to that, that I can think of, are FR stuff that Ed didn't plot or write.
However (ahem) I'm here to ask another of my own Realmslore questions:
Dear Ed and Lady THO,
is there any such thing as "standard size" clothing in the Realms? If not, how does someone who's not wealthy and in a high-class city shop with change rooms ever pick out items to buy? Does everyone buy "obviously too big" stuff and pull it with belts, home sewing, etc.? What's the etiquette for trying stuff on in a village market? Is there a tiny one-person-stand-up tent? Or does a proprietor hold up a privacy blanket? Or--?
Thanks! |
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Longtime Lurker
Seeker
51 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 19:42:46
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Ed and THO,
I'm playing in a Realms campaign where I KNOW (because I was with my lady friend when she bought them, and overheard some of her conversation with the store owner) our DM is soon going to throw some walking battle robots (smaller than Battletech mechs, but a little taller than even a big human warrior) at us. Through a portal, I'd guess, or perhaps as long-buried "dungeon" guardians.
My question is: what attitude will a priest of Gond (my PC) have when he sees these things? Will he want to study/tinker with/collect these things? Or destroy them before they kill him and all his adventuring companions?
If it matters, our campaign is set in 1372 DR.
Thanks in advance! |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
161 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 19:47:22
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Very interested in hearing Ed's reply to that last one. In the FR campaign I'm currently playing in, we've found some robot-like things in the treasure vault of a lord of one of the Dales (he doesn't know we've discovered them yet).
Of course (!), our thief activated one of them. We slammed the vault door on it, but we know the lord is going to send some of his trusted servants down there soon to get some coins to pay for some armor for a coming local war.
Question is: if we have to leap to fight and destroy this thing, but we pretend we don't know anything about it until it's clobbered some of the servants (so the lord will then see it as a threat, coming up through his home to get him), is the lord going to be furious at us for destroying his "treasure," or see smashing the thing as necessary and what we did as good?
Thanks! |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
161 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 19:49:25
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Oh, and just so my questions don't always sound like "fix my campaign please" queries, I have a very different one: in Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate, circa 1374 DR, what's the "hottest" fashion in lady's hats or hairdos, if any?
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A Gavel
Seeker
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 19:59:15
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Lovely Lady THO and Esteemed Ed,
I have a Realms question regarding Thay (of about the 1350s and 1360s). How did upper-crust Thayans (not the Zulkirs or Tharchions, but those from whom such personages arise) meet, socially? I mean in an everyday gossip and greet fashion, not trials and Court functions?
Thanks! |
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chance87
Seeker
50 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 21:26:24
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I seem to recall somewhere (Death of the Dragon, maybe?) Malar's clergy in Cormyr. If I remember rightly, at the time, it was put forth that Malar's clerics actually perform a valuable service in Cormyr...they hunt. Meat from these hunts is distributed to the poor, or to a particular village. A blind eye may be turned to some of their more disturbing practices, and in turn, hunts of sentient creatures may be carried out in the Stonelands, or outside Cormyr altogether.
Some religions may not be tolerated, or so closely monitored by the War Wizards as to be effectively prohibited, or at least, driven underground.
quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Well, I'm obviously not Ed, but I'd guess Ed's answer is going to point you at the fact that everybody in the Realms "believes in" ALL of the gods, so a government, regardless of alignment (and what gov't, beyond an absolute tyranny or tightly-ruled theocracy, ever really is just one alignment, anyway?), would never think of NOT tolerating a religion. Covertly working against its agents and devout followers who follow clerics' commands over local laws, yes.
That's the way I'd DM it, anyway.
BB
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 02:36:27
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi again, all.
No, createvmind, I'm afraid they're not Ed creations.
Broken Helm, there are frequent "expressions of interest" about many of Ed's creations from various television, feature film, and console or computer game makers.
(snip)
The majority of such plans, all across the entertainment industry, never make it to a final product, for a huge variety of reasons.
(snip)
love to all,
THO
Perhaps the solution is to not bill settings as novels or short stories, but as sites of comic book action.
"The Realms was a comic book? One-two-three ... greenlight!"
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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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Vangelor
Learned Scribe
USA
183 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 02:43:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Broken Helm
is there any such thing as "standard size" clothing in the Realms? If not, how does someone who's not wealthy and in a high-class city shop with change rooms ever pick out items to buy? Does everyone buy "obviously too big" stuff and pull it with belts, home sewing, etc.?
I am not Ed or THO, but I will bet my last brass button that home sewing accounts for more garments than any other source, custom tailoring being a luxury of the rich, and garments of no particular fit bought large and altered down the least frequently used means of buying clothes in the Realms, basing this solely on where and how most people bought clothes in our own world befor industrialization and mass-production changed things.
People usually made much of their own clothing, sometimes through the entire process of spinning thread, weaving cloth, and sewing clothes. Cloaks are perhaps more easily made so that "one size fits all", with lengths for halflings and children, women and elves, and humans. Otherwise, home sewing or, if one is wealthy, a tailor probably makes clothes to measure. |
Edited by - Vangelor on 14 Sep 2008 02:49:40 |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 03:25:05
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One scene in the novel Cormyr: A Novel was set in a Suzail clothier's shop. There may be some clues in there.
Check out Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog for examples of "off-the-rack" clothes, from doublets to slippers to jester's caps.
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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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Edited by - Jamallo Kreen on 14 Sep 2008 03:28:23 |
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Kosta the Lich
Acolyte
United Kingdom
11 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 12:12:00
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I would like to ask Ed, If he could please elaborate on this statement that appeared in the Wise words from Ed. regarding the 4e discussion:
"I intend to go on exploring the Realms, bringing us all more detail. Some of it in the “now” Realms, and some of it in the “new” Realms."
My hope was that the 3e would be just as detailed as the previous one but since the 4e is out I fear this will not be the case.
Thanks a lot, Kosta |
Minsc and Boo stand ready to polish my boots. |
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Wulgreth
Acolyte
Italy
9 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 15:26:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Wulgreth
Sorry if I repost from elsewhere but I was suggested to submit this question here.
I led my players to the underdark, right below Chondath yesterday. The map in the "Underdark" accessory shows a huge area, miles wide, called "The Pit of Jhaam". Anyone has an idea of what it contains? Nothing shown up on Internet, is it another "blank" area for DM to design? Can we have some hints?
I guess it my be Jhaam's graveyard crawling with psionic monsters, but is it a immense cavern filled with slime or..? How was it created?
UP! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 15:44:24
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Hello again, all. I bring you the words of Ed in response to Kosta the Lich:
Hi, Kosta. You've raised a question that a LOT of gamers have been asking me and various folks at Wizards. Here's the straight answer: the future plans of the company are unknown to me - - and, I suspect, not set in stone; sales will govern all. However, as of right now, the emphasis on all future published Realmslore will be 4e. As in: we've made the century jump, and the lore that's needed is the "new" Realms we find around us now.
However, brief flashbacks in some novels, and some ongoing fiction series (notably Bob Salvatore's Transitions trilogy, and my just-finishing Knights trilogy) are still "in the past." I have promised to wrap up the Border Kingdoms articles, in the "free" part of the WotC website, and they are set in the past (i.e. in 3e, just pre-Spellplague on the timeline). Wizards has agreed to publish this, though many of the staffers I dealt with have since been let go. If in time to come when I get the BK finished, Wizards for any reason doesn't want to host the completed file, I intend to publish it here. [The original Realms agreement allows me to do such things, though I suspect the Hasbro legal folks won't be happy - - but then, they haven't approached me to renegotiate the agreement to prevent such publications. I'm hoping they'll just tack it on to the existing BK web-columns, put them all together in a big .doc file, and provide it on the WotC website for free.]
I also intend to go right on answering lore queries here in this thread, and right now I'm a lot better at answering "old timeline location" Realmslore queries than I am the "new" Realms of 4e. I intend to go right on answering 3e-time queries for as long as scribes ask such questions. That won't get you full-length products, but it will get you lore coverage that any DM (if scribes ask the right questions and follow-up questions) quite enough to run a particular Realms locale or facet of Realms life in game play.
We all die sometime, and Wizards could indeed find ways to stop me (the easy way is just to keep me so blamed busy with writing new stuff that I don't have time to answer the queries THO constantly ferries into my lap, because such writing is how I earn my living), but as I type this, I don't intend to stop doing this. In other words, for those whose campaigns are still pre-Spellplague, I intend to "be there" for you.
I also have much 3e-current lore (e.g. Cormyr, the completely detailed city of Teziir) that's essentially complete, but has been "orphaned" by the time-jump, and am looking to WotC for some answers as to when and how we'll see this lore published.
For one thing, if you have a campaign you and your fellow participants are enjoying, set pre-Spellplague, why abandon that? Just keep on playing; you have almost a hundred years (or even more, if your timeline hadn't quite reached the date of A GRAND HISTORY OF THE REALMS) before the 4e Realms game products become fully relevant. The Spellplague isn't a moving curtain that proceeds across Faerun changing everything; it takes years to spread, affecting some areas greatly and others scarcely at all. So play can easily go on for another DECADE of real time before the Spellplague becomes more than a source of rumors and wild tales of stuff that's happened "somewhere else in the world," plus a lot of worry high up in priesthoods (and more rumors, for everyone else).
So as your lore queries arise, I'll still be here to answer them.
That's how I see things as of now. So, all Realms fans, keep those questions coming . . .
So saith Ed. Who has Been There for us all, for nigh-forty years now.
love to all,
THO |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 17:03:53
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Thanks for that rather candid (as usual) answer, Ed (and THO).
As for Longtime Lurker's post, there is quite a lot of history in the Realms about Automatons. The most famous are probably Trobriand's Automatons, existing in Undermountain. The Netherease also developed and used this magical tech, and created the Thaluds (Tomb-tappers) with it. The Raumathari made extensive use of 'mechanical juggernaughts', and got that knowledge from their 'association' with the Imaskari (who also seemed to have used it, but in a more utilitarian manner).
Stepping outside of Faerûn proper, both the Utter East and Kara-Tur have a history of 'Golem Armies' that are more self-aware then your typical 'Golem'. These would both make perfect places for a Warforged character to hail from in the Realms.
Not exactly an answer to your question, LL, but I hope a little history of magical machines in FR helps you understand that this is nothing new for Gond's priesthood. 
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"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 14 Sep 2008 17:04:38 |
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The Red Walker
Great Reader
USA
3567 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 17:22:36
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello again, all. This time, Ed makes reply to The Red Walker’s query re. a good possible family trip, as follows:
Well met again, Red Walker! This is a GREAT question, and the first thing I’m going to say is: don’t be swayed by me; listen to your heart and longings (and those of your loved ones) first and foremost. From what you replied to THO, if I were in your shoes, I’d be jumping on the plane to England right away - - but that’s ME. :}.......
........
So saith Ed. Who as you can tell, loves the green and pleasant sceptered isle fondly. As do I.
love to all,
THO
Well met again to you as well Ed! Thank you for the detailed and very heart felt advertisment for England! There are alot of tips their that will be most useful. Right now we are leaning to extending out to 12-14 days and try to do England and a bit of the Emerald Isle as time permits. We also have a good size contingent of friends(including a few here at the keep), who make the Austrailia/New Zealand option very attractive as well! We are the kind of people who value family and friends highest, so that is making it a very tough choice between the two! We are weighing our thoughts gathered from all our friends before "voting" Then it's down to what season to visit and actually nailing down the details!
Thanks again Ed and THO! |
A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka
"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -
John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 14 Sep 2008 : 17:30:56
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You almost brought a tear to my eye there Ed. I really appreciate you being there for us. Who knows? I'm still hoping for a Elminster or Halaster to wake up from a bad dream and resume their usual, previously scheduled 1374 DR activities...  |
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Marek
Seeker
Italy
52 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 00:38:44
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Hello THO and Ed, another question from my community:
We couldn't find anything related to how a Thayan soldier becomes a knight at the service of a Red Wizard.
In the game I'm a Red Wizard and my bodyguard has served me well for almost two years. At the enclave we all agreed it's time for him to be invested and receive the magic tattoo.
How should we hold this ceremony? |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 01:07:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Purple Dragon Knight
You almost brought a tear to my eye there Ed. I really appreciate you being there for us. Who knows? I'm still hoping for a Elminster or Halaster to wake up from a bad dream and resume their usual, previously scheduled 1374 DR activities...
Ed: I know Erik Mona came up with Lathander's Dawn Cataclysm (AFAIK), but perhaps this little singular yet-to-happen out of the timestream event could also be used... in the event where a major retcon is required... say... at the advent of 5E... and if you feel that a dream sequence solution is too... cheesy!  |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 15:30:51
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Did someone say cheese?
PDK, is that "cheesy" as in: bad, cr*ppy, etc., or "Cheeeeeese" as in the FR comics Jeff Grubb play-with-your-head substance?
BB |
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 15:34:03
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Just saw the Hogfather DVD (at last!) yesterday, and I must say that the way Michelle Dockery protrayed the character of Susan seemed (to me, anyway) to be what Storm or Laeral or Alustriel might have been like as just-older-than-teenagers.
Am I way off base, here, Ed or THO? Or do you see and agree with what I'm getting at? |
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Baleful Avatar
Learned Scribe
Canada
161 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 15:41:51
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Dear Ed, have you written any mysteries recently? (Fiction, I mean, not the "solve a mystery" FR scenarios you often run at conventions.) Do you plan to write any more "murder mystery" fiction set in the Realms?
I'm on a mystery-reading kick recently, and was struck by how well your writing style and the Realms would "fit" some of the older classic mystery yarns.
Thanks in advance, and I'll understand if this is NDA territory. |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 15:47:28
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Forgot to ask my question of the day: in the Royal Palace in Suzail in Cormyr, during the Steel Regency, who decides exactly what Purple Dragon guards get posted where? Which specific official or military officer? (What I'm really asking is: if a villain or PC adventurer wants to knock a warrior cold and take his place, in Purple Dragon uniform and pretending to be the real guard, which person would be able to KNOW, at a glance, that they're an impostor because they decided who should really be standing there?)
Thanks!
BB |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 23:08:59
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Hello All,
Ed I'm curious as to the origins of vampires in faerun, did the first vampires come from another plane to faerun and if not do you have an origin story? In the dragon rage novels, Brimstone was able to travel about due to imbuing a collar he wore with the essence of his "coffin" so to speak, if any original ancient vampires still exist in faerun did they have ways of achieving this as well. Due to the nature of magic on faerun I assume just like beholders, there are many types of vampires with various powers and abilities, is this so and can you provide any lore on this topic?
What occurs if a vampire drinks dead blood or another vampire for that matter?
Thanks as always |
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Marek
Seeker
Italy
52 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 23:13:43
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Here more questions from the community:
Bane doesn't have martial weapons proficiency and can only use the gauntlet. We heard he's been cursed by Tempus but would like to know more about this topic and other interesting info on this god.
How exactly Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul ascended to godhood?
Thanks! |
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A Publishing Lackey
Seeker
74 Posts |
Posted - 15 Sep 2008 : 23:30:42
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| Marek, I think all of these questions have been discussed (your second one several times over) here at the Keep, so the answers you seek should all be "written on the scrolls here." Sage? Wooly Rupert? Kuje? |
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GoCeraf
Learned Scribe
147 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 00:47:17
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quote:
Originally posted by createvmind
Hello All,
Ed I'm curious as to the origins of vampires in faerun, did the first vampires come from another plane to faerun and if not do you have an origin story? In the dragon rage novels, Brimstone was able to travel about due to imbuing a collar he wore with the essence of his "coffin" so to speak, if any original ancient vampires still exist in faerun did they have ways of achieving this as well. Due to the nature of magic on faerun I assume just like beholders, there are many types of vampires with various powers and abilities, is this so and can you provide any lore on this topic?
What occurs if a vampire drinks dead blood or another vampire for that matter?
Thanks as always
While I can offer little in the way of lore, I could probably tackle the mechanics of what you're asking, pertaining to vampires drinking dead blood or vampiric blood.
Most importantly, vampires can actually go, according to the rules presented in Libris Mortis, up to a year and a half without feeding on the blood of a living creature. This stands to reason a certain "metabolic" resilience. I'd imagine that the blood of the recently deceased (i.e., an opponent slain in battle) would prove to be about as sustaining as "live blood."
On the other hand, there's probably a certain rush that a vampire gets from biting into a living artery, since the cardiac muscle action would still be function, and blood would pump directly from the wound.
[/morbid]
Regardless, I suspect that any vampire would prefer living victims to dead ones, and the longer things are necrotic, the less a vampire would want to feed from them.
As for vampires drinking from other vampires, I doubt it can be done. It's not so much a supernatural limitation, but vampires really don't have any blood of their own. The same is true for most other undead. This results in their cold skin temperature and almost universally pallid complexion.
Now that I think about it, I've never seen a zombie film in which the zombies go after one another. ::Shrugs::
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Being sarcastic can be more telling than simply telling. |
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Ardashir
Senior Scribe
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 01:42:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Well, I'm obviously not Ed, but I'd guess Ed's answer is going to point you at the fact that everybody in the Realms "believes in" ALL of the gods, so a government, regardless of alignment (and what gov't, beyond an absolute tyranny or tightly-ruled theocracy, ever really is just one alignment, anyway?), would never think of NOT tolerating a religion. Covertly working against its agents and devout followers who follow clerics' commands over local laws, yes.
That's the way I'd DM it, anyway.
BB
Yes, but some religions are stated as always working against the law of the land (Shar, Talos), so I can't see very many governments being willing to tolerate them. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 16 Sep 2008 : 01:45:06
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quote:
Originally posted by A Publishing Lackey
Marek, I think all of these questions have been discussed (your second one several times over) here at the Keep, so the answers you seek should all be "written on the scrolls here." Sage? Wooly Rupert? Kuje?
Indeed.
Marek, I'd search through the "So Saith Ed" archives, as Ed has touched on various aspects of the questions you've asked here. See the link in my signature. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2008)
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