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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 20:27:21
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quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
Just out of curiousity (and with a full understanding of how busy Ed is), what's the longest it's ever taken to answer a question on one of these threads? Have any gone more than a year?
Indeed. I think some have been answered more than 2 years later, and I know some of my oldest questions have not yet been answered. In fact, I don't even recall all the questions I've asked!  |
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CylverSaber
Seeker
95 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 20:34:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
Just out of curiousity (and with a full understanding of how busy Ed is), what's the longest it's ever taken to answer a question on one of these threads? Have any gone more than a year?
Indeed. I think some have been answered more than 2 years later, and I know some of my oldest questions have not yet been answered. In fact, I don't even recall all the questions I've asked!
Wow! Well, I've only asked one (other than this). I wish there was some way to be notified when you do get an answer... it's daunting to think about reading through every page in this thread for the next 2 years looking for that one answer... |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 21:46:38
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quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
Just out of curiousity (and with a full understanding of how busy Ed is), what's the longest it's ever taken to answer a question on one of these threads? Have any gone more than a year?
Indeed. I think some have been answered more than 2 years later, and I know some of my oldest questions have not yet been answered. In fact, I don't even recall all the questions I've asked!
Wow! Well, I've only asked one (other than this). I wish there was some way to be notified when you do get an answer... it's daunting to think about reading through every page in this thread for the next 2 years looking for that one answer...
So don't read it for that one answer. I keep reading because a lot of the answers are interesting, even if they don't pertain to anything I've even pondered, much less asked about.  |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 22:30:11
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I think I still have a question or two or more that are way back from the original thread about three years ago. :) Which, I also forgot what they were about. :) I think one's about a ritual for Sehanine that I once needed for a campaign I was running but I'd still like an answer. :)
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
Just out of curiousity (and with a full understanding of how busy Ed is), what's the longest it's ever taken to answer a question on one of these threads? Have any gone more than a year?
Indeed. I think some have been answered more than 2 years later, and I know some of my oldest questions have not yet been answered. In fact, I don't even recall all the questions I've asked!
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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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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 23:12:19
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quote:
Originally posted by althen artren
Scrolls shared, Scribes:
A quick follow up on my previous Sessrendale question. Okay, spells
prohibit the restoration of the land by Nature Elemental. Would grass
at least come back and the salt be taken out of the land if it were to
pass?
Way back in Dragon ?, when you were discussing the Hells, you mentioned
a duke-in-exile Armaros "the Resolver of Enchantments". May I have much more
on this duke? I want him to be a power behind the throne guy in my stories I
start working on.
Eric Boyd wrote a very interesting FR adventure for Dungeon in the last days of that mag which featured Armaros rather cleverly. Alas, it will never see the light of day.
-- George Krashos
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"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 23:33:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Marek
Hello THO and Ed,
I am sorry if I repeat a question I made a few months ago but I'm afraid it must have been lost.
Marek, you and I have been over this before, several times. Please heed the words of THO as Wooly quoted above.
Your questions are never missed. It's always good practice to scroll back through the pages of this scroll just to make sure you haven't missed any important details regarding your question during times you're not active here at Candlekeep.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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 |
Edited by - The Sage on 02 Dec 2008 23:46:00 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 23:37:53
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quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
Just out of curiousity (and with a full understanding of how busy Ed is), what's the longest it's ever taken to answer a question on one of these threads? Have any gone more than a year?
Well, during my efforts to compile most of this year's worth of replies, I do recall one or two being answered that were originally asked back in '05. [And I know I've got a couple from that year and before that are still on Ed's "To-Answer" list ]
It's important to note though, that while a question may have been asked quite some time go, Ed's focus on many of the aspects of Realmslore may eventually mean that your question deals with subject matter that could potentially fall under a future NDA. In which case, it may not fully receive the kind of attention from Ed that it would have earlier. But Ed has always noted when this is the case with older [1-to-2-year] questions.
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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 |
Edited by - The Sage on 02 Dec 2008 23:46:07 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2008 : 23:44:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
I think I still have a question or two or more that are way back from the original thread about three years ago. :)
You mean four years ago [Feb. '04]. In fact, we'll have about five years worth of questions and answers from Ed in just two short months. Five years... my how time flies when the Realmslore comes directly from Ed. 
And speaking of lingering questions from way back, I know I've got one or two lingering from that '04 scroll.  |
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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CylverSaber
Seeker
95 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2008 : 04:18:39
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
It's important to note though, that while a question may have been asked quite some time go, Ed's focus on many of the aspects of Realmslore may eventually mean that your question deals with subject matter that could potentially fall under a future NDA. In which case, it may not fully receive the kind of attention from Ed that it would have earlier. But Ed has always noted when this is the case with older [1-to-2-year] questions.
You mean that when I asked the question, it might have been answerable, but later on it might become unanswerable? I don't think that would apply to mine, since mine was more "retrospective" (asking about Ed's intent when writing the Expedition to Undermountain adventure) rather than about forthcoming stuff.
Too bad there's not an "express lane" like in supermarkets... "Shoppers with 2 questions or less over here" |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2008 : 04:45:54
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quote:
Originally posted by CylverSaber
You mean that when I asked the question, it might have been answerable, but later on it might become unanswerable?
Aye.
quote:
I don't think that would apply to mine, since mine was more "retrospective" (asking about Ed's intent when writing the Expedition to Undermountain adventure) rather than about forthcoming stuff.
True.
But my post above wasn't directly in response to you question. Rather, it was a note for all scribes asking questions [and who have asked questions which still remain unanswered] and those asked previously.
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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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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2008 : 17:49:11
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So... all's quiet on the Greenwood front. 
Not really a question this time out, but I'd like to hear his thoughts about these recent layoffs. Ed is usually pretty good at makng us feel better about stuff when things are looking grim. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2008 : 18:58:14
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Scrolls shared, George:
Oh my, you are a tease. To tell me something
yummy and then tell me its lock up with the Coke
formula and the real plot for the Kennedy
asassination. Too cruel! How in the world did you
find out about it then? Do you have insider info, hmmm?
I'd have Hooded Lady teach you about suffering, but
I'm certain it would be the wrong type of suffering.
(Think Vangy's song in Elminster's Daughter)
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2008 : 19:17:39
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Hi, all.
Ed is very busy at the moment (and saddened by today's layoffs at Wizards, which include Julia Martin). While we're waiting for Ed's next lore post, I would direct you to an interview (part one of a long, long chat about writing) with Ed, available for viewing at:
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/greenwood_interview
Ed gives good interview.
love to all,
THO |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3741 Posts |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2008 : 21:54:55
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Tabot? I didn't see any dissing by Ed, of anyone, there...
Dagnirion? Explain, please?
BB |
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see
Learned Scribe
235 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2008 : 22:05:36
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(Yeah, this is from a while back, but . . .)
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
The only thing to add is that the two inauspicious reigns of the "Bryntarths" has led to this name being very low down the totem pole for future sovereigns of Cormyr. It's not so much considered in the royal family to be bad luck to be named Bryntarth, just likely to lead to an individual and/or reign with little or no noteworthy elements.
Hmm. See, were I, say, Tanalasta, that would have encouraged me to name my heir Bryntarth. Didn't we have enough noteworthy elements during her father's reign?
I think we can now directly blame Tanalasta's sentiment for the Spellplague. After all, Gondegal, the Avatar Crisis, and the Goblin War/Devil Dragon/Ghazneth business all happened during the reign of Azoun IV; of course something even bigger had to happen when things were dialed up to V. |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 02:00:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Blueblade
Tabot? I didn't see any dissing by Ed, of anyone, there...
Dagnirion? Explain, please?
BB
quote:
"I never try to model any part of my fantasy worlds on anything overtly like the real world or the historical past of our real world (though some other designers and fiction writers on staff at TSR did do just that, grafting [among other things] the Dalai Lama onto my fantasy world. A disastrous stylistic (as well as legal) mistake, in my opinion."
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"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 04 Dec 2008 02:02:42 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 03:25:37
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Hello again, fellow scribes. I bring you the words of Ed of the Greenwood, in response to divers lore queries. Ed’s come through with a long multiple answer, so anyone asking questions in the last two pages of this thread (and this one) should read through this reply, to see if it contains answers to your dearest queries.
First, Ed tackles this, from Markustay:
“Don't know if Ed can or even wants to answer this one, but WHY does a game company feel like it needs to be run like the CIA?
Will a terrorist attack happen somewhere if Ed tells us what he is working on?
I just don't understand... it's just a friggin' game, after all.
I can buy the secrecy if they were producing microchips, or some type of 64-bit software encryption, but are they afraid someone else might steal their idea... about Elves?
NDA's I understand to a point (although I think they have gone overboard with them), but this 'secret projects' thing strikes me odd, because most companies LOVE to shout from the mountaintops all the "cool new stuff" they are working on.”
Ed replies:
You’ll have to ask the game companies who use NDAs why they use them, in each specific instance (I suspect, in many, it’s because they have legal departments who believe this is “best practice” when dealing with intellectual properties), but for me, it’s a simple matter of honouring the contracts (and NDAs) I’ve signed. That’s professional behaviour, and I’m a professional, so I stand by what I agreed to. It’s that simple.
(There are times when I, too, ponder “Why?” to a particular NDA, if that makes you feel any better. In any organization [governments, anyone?], where knowledge is power, there’s a tendency towards secrecy for its own sake, and that can sometimes lead to, say, citizens or consumers or clients being kept in the dark on matters they should be informed on. There should always be a good, and clearly limited, reason for secrecy, and when that’s absent, so should all secrecy be. However, I speak in purely philosophical terms, here. I’m not running a government or a games company [for which everyone else in the world should be heartily thankful], so I’m not in the right position to tell you just when something should be kept secret or revealed.)
So saith Ed.
createvmind recently asked: “Hello All, Question to Ed but Hooded Lady chime in if you have knowledge of it as well, have animals, familiars, animal companions ever been raised in your games? Would a deity allow its divine energy to be wasted on such an animal? More importantly, if the answer is ‘no,’ would this be common knowledge across Faerûn?”
Ed replies:
In past Realmsplay, deities have caused familiars, animal companions, pets, and animals worshippers felt needful to have alive or that they felt indebted to, to be brought back to life. However, there are some divine “rules” about this: animals sacrificed to a deity are only brought back to life if the deity is rejecting the sacrifice (worship of the sacrificer) or signaling that they are rebuking a deed, stance, or practice. Familiars, companions, and pets that return to life do NOT resume their roles as familiars, companions, and pets, but bid their former partners/masters/character companions farewell, and go off on “second lives” of their own.
Senior clergy of many faiths have heard of this last point, but there is no widespread, Realms-wide knowledge of what happens when attempts are made to bring animals back to life, because there are so many different possible outcomes, depending on the individual situation.
The short answer is: if you lose your familiar (or paladin’s steed, or whatever), you can bring them back to life out of sentiment, or a sense of debt or gratitude or fairness, but you have lost their services and the link you shared with them. (Sorry.)
So saith Ed. Who now turns to this, from Dagnirion: “Hey, all. I mistakenly asked Krash a query, thinking that he had been the creator of something, but I was mistaken, and pointed me in the proper direction. Srindym, an Elven poison mentioned in one of the vignettes of Elminster in Hell...Can you share more about this, lore-wise, if anything exists. I'm mainly interested in how it's made (as in, the who, what, when's, and so on), and it's prevalence. Going by his description in that ill-fated DRAGON article, "An iridescent, silver liquid, this poison was created by the eladrin millennia ago and often used by less principled individuals of that race against 'lesser' races", it sounds like something the Eldreth Veluuthra would use. Before I make anything up, however, I'd like to go straight to the source.”
Ed replies:
A fiction-related NDA may stop me answering this (relating to lore help I gave an author), so I’ll have to check to see if I can answer you.
I can say this much: very few eladrin or anyone else know how to make srindym, so it’s rare and expensive, and its making involves eladrin blood, moonlight, the casting of multiple spells, and other ingredients; the method of its making (and where any caches of it are kept) has always been a closely-guarded secret.
More when/if I know I can dispense lore freely.
So saith Ed. Who now says a little bit more about this, from Sage of Stars (which was promptly echoed by A Publishing Lackey): “Ed, there have been rumors in certain publishing circles that you have been writing Christmas stories every year, and plan to publish a book of them. True? Or would you rather not say, yet?
Thank you, either way.”
Ed replies:
Yes, I have been writing an annual Christmas story to read aloud at the public library where I work, in Port Hope, Ontario (this year, I’m reading at 4:30 pm this Friday, after famous Canadian author Farley Mowat - - and I’ll start by reading one of the short tales contained in THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD, the just-released [or will be, by then] and very short new book by J.K. Rowling).
All of the Christmas stories I’ve written are meant to be read aloud (usually by one person to their family, or to a Yuletide gathering of friends), and are as much for adults as they are for children (they also tend to be about the family or commercial side of Christmas, as opposed to the overtly religious side of Christmas).
It’s my eventual plan to publish them as a book, with proceeds to go to the library, but I’m not going to do that until I can get a proper publishing deal for them, because this book will garner the library little unless it’s properly packaged by a publisher as a near-the-cash-register Christmas “great family buy” at Christmas one year (if that’s done, it has the potential to be a solid bestseller, because of the reading-aloud suitability). They tend to be unabashedly sentimental tearjerkers, because I’m a hopeless romantic.
The only Christmas story of mine that has been published anywhere, in a quite different form, was WRATHCLAW’S WYRMTIDE, a loose draconic interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” which appeared in WE THREE DRAGONS (still available from Tor as a very reasonably-priced paperback, and also containing stories by famous game designers and fiction writers Jeff Grubb and James Ward).
I will also be reading Stave One of Dicken’s own abridgement of “A Christmas Carol” (meant for public readings) at Old St. Andrew’s church in Colborne, Ontario this year, on Tuesday, December 9th at 7:30 pm (yes, there are tickets, and they cost money [you can pay at the door], and it goes to charity, and this is just one of the many, many readings done annually across Canada with a CBC personality taking part, ours being David Michael Lamb).
So saith Ed. Who now moves on to this, from CylverSaber: “Just out of curiousity (and with a full understanding of how busy Ed is), what's the longest it's ever taken to answer a question on one of these threads? Have any gone more than a year?”
Ed replies:
Yes. The oldest not-fully-answered reply in my files dates to February 2004. Unless I die or become incapacitated first, I will be answering everything, unless it’s something clearly beyond the scope of what I should answer (for instance, detailed rules queries about D&D®, which are better directed to the company publishing it, rather than Realms questions), or that I consider inappropriate (you can ask me what sort of underwear I’m wearing or not wearing, and I’ll freely tell you, but don’t ask me to check THO’s undergarments; that query should properly be made directly to her).
Unfortunately, the sheer weight of questions means I can’t always answer in as timely a manner as I should, for the questioner’s convenience. Sorry, but there’s only one of me, and I support my family with the paying writing, and sign contracts to do so that I must fulfill, so it MUST come first.
So saith Ed. And the answer to the question he raises about my undergarments: none at all, at this particular moment, except for a garter belt and the chic-ly patterned nylons it’s supporting. Thanks for asking. 
Which brings us to this, from Marek: “Hello THO and Ed,
I am sorry if I repeat a question I made a few months ago but I'm afraid it must have been lost.
It's a really important question for us who are playing in this online game set in Baldur's Gate.
As far as I know, the dukes are part of the Lords' Alliance but should be one of the less strict rulers considering they host a Thayan enclave.
I think it also means they wouldn't do anything to harm the enclave, as we know that breaking a signed contract would lead to many troubles.
Why would the dukes bother the Thayans when they admitted them in the first place?
Thsi is exactly what happens in our online persistent world and I believe it is a misinterpretation of the handbook.
Can you confirm that the dukes have nothing against the Thayan enclave and how it is generally perceived by the local people?
It is really important for us. Being a persistent world online we're hundreds of players and we're all waiting for this answer that will be much appreciated.”
Ed replies:
First, please understand that I can’t answer for matters pertaining directly to licensed computer games that use Baldur’s Gate (or Neverwinter or Myth Drannor or anywhere else, for that matter) as settings.
I can tell you how I see things in Baldur’s Gate, as the creator and longest persistent designer of the Realms.
So in specific answer to the query you pose, here’s the thing: it’s a mistake to view the dukes as a monolithic, one-voice-one-shared-thought-behind-it unity. They are different people, and they hold very different opinions on some matters (many of which they keep secret from each other, not just the city or wider Realms, in the interests of appearing united and avoiding a lot of unwanted pestering from various power groups seeking to drive them into conflict with each other).
Some of the dukes ARE (fairly quietly, because they’d prefer not to end up as frogs or just swirling piles of ash, post-some-hurled-spell) opposed to the Thayans, because since the enclave was established, various Thayans have done things that suggest that the Red Wizards want to kill the dukes and end their rule, or shove them aside into being mere figureheads, or worse, scapegoats. Things such as pressuring the lawkeepers and record keepers into changing details of laws and trying to conceal that changes have been made (“Oh, this has ALWAYS been how this law read; have you [gasp] been breaking it, all these years? Oh, I’m so sorry we’re now going to have to complain about you and get you jailed or having to pay a huge fine that’s built up over all these years), or issuing orders to lawkeepers (about who to arrest, what laws to enforce, and which transgressions to just ignore) but presenting these orders as if they came from the dukes, and the particular Thayan is just “relaying” them, actually rewriting contracts and sending thieves or using spells to steal or destroy all copies of the original contract, and so on.
Other dukes haven’t noticed any of these nasty deeds, and in some cases would prefer not to hear about them, and ARE NOT opposed to the Thayans, who have brought much wealth and trade to the city, causing it to grow and generate more trade (more citizens means more consumers for everything).
It’s fair to say that no duke has openly said the Thayans should be thrown out of the city, or tried to do so. If directly asked, dukes would probably deny knowing about “any problems at all” regarding the Thayan enclave. Yet some local merchants, and at least one duke (just who, you’ll have to discover in play, but I strongly suspect there’s more than one) has been hiring outlander adventuring bands to “create difficulties” for the Thayans, just to give them foes to keep them busy in the city - - so they won’t get any busier trying to sap the ruling power of the dukes.
Note that this is the situation that affords the most possible outcomes, and therefore the greatest number and scope of adventuring possibilities, to enrich play. That’s almost always the route to follow, in a gaming situation where you’re not trying to end a campaign or adventure.
So saith Ed, creator of the Realms and veteran game designer (and he was a veteran before there were computer games or Wizards of the Coast had ever been thought of - - something to remember when younger stars of the industry sneer at him or his work). It’s also good to remember when Ed tackles this very recent question, from Markustay: “So... all's quiet on the Greenwood front. Not really a question this time out, but I'd like to hear his thoughts about these recent layoffs. Ed is usually pretty good at makng us feel better about stuff when things are looking grim.”
Ed replies:
It’s always sad whenever people lose their jobs and they don’t richly deserve to do so - - and obviously, whenever a group of people (in this case, 20), are laid off at once, it’s not because they all screwed up.
Hearing about staff cuts is always sad for me, because as a freelancer who has always made most of his money from a day job until I became a novel writer (and then from the novels), gaming has never been about the money. It’s been about friends - - and an old and dear friend, Julia Martin, lost her job today.
I always hate it when bad things befall my friends.
Business is sometimes bruising, and these are tough economic times, and business management sometimes involves tough (some will say brutal, or ruthless, or necessary) decisions.
I’m not in any position to judge these layoffs, from a management point of view - - but then, I hold the opinion that North American business management went off the rails a long time ago, and it happened the moment someone in a suit who works with numbers got paid more, and was accorded more prestige, than someone who fixes your toilet, or the town sewers, or keeps the electricity running, or makes a tool you can use, or grows (not packages) food you can eat.
I say that makes me understand the world a lot better than many economists, investment analysts, bankers, politicians, and CEOs, but many of them might well say that it disqualifies me to judge ANY management decision. And they might well be right.
If there’s any solace in this, it’s in taking the long view: people who work in gaming do so for love (if they do it purely for money, they’re nuts), nerds in basements are always coming up with cool new games and larger gaming companies are always managing to repackage and improve and expand games that the basement nerds can’t afford to develop farther, and roleplaying games in particular are storytelling that’s always enriched by new voices, new creativity bubbling up—and always shaped by the grognards and longtime fans critiquing, modifying, and reshaping what’s sold or given to them, in a process that almost always makes the games (and the shared gaming experience) better. And that's a surging lifeblood that will outlive every individual gamer, paid game creative, and gaming company, and go on making our hobby great for years - - hopefully many years - - to come. Bringing constant changes all the time, of course.
And if elected, I promise THO in every bed, a chicken in every . . . oh, ahem, better climb down off my soapbox now.
So saith Ed. Who’d better, before he spreads me THAT thin. (Yes, scribes, go ahead, make all the “spreads me” jokes you want. I can take it, I’m a BIG girl . . . ahem, now I’M doing it.)
That’s all from Ed in this post, so for now,
love to all,
THO
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Edited by - The Hooded One on 04 Dec 2008 03:33:05 |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 04:16:00
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20 let go eh?
Aye, sounds like they are trying to put their books solid in the black for next year...probably be hiring young blood soon to bring things back to par and still save some coin too. Sad that long time help has to go to stabalize the payroll department though.
Well, THO...that was quite a spread of answers there.
All I'm going to touch on that one. Mrs. Darden can wield a whip better than Loviatar...
Question to the bearded one THO (small, sleepy pun):
If Ed could concentrate his efforts on a most desired area and publish a book concerning it; what area of the Forgotten Realms would he choose? |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 06:20:54
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| Ah, the lovely Lady Hooded One in naught but a garter belt and stockings... Now there's what I want for Christmas! |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
254 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 06:49:58
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I won't make cheap jokes... I just wonder what 'chic-ly patterned' means... (you'll have to show me that some time, THO)
A well, lore question then.
I was wondering what remains of Elminster's tower in 1479.
Gomez,
who would vote for Ed, were he an US citizen...
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 12:35:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Ah, the lovely Lady Hooded One in naught but a garter belt and stockings... Now there's what I want for Christmas!
Indeed.
Can I place an order for that one as well, my Lady?
Certainly, it will be an improvement over last year's "Wish you were here!" cards. 
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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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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3243 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 15:23:35
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quote:
Originally posted by gomez
I won't make cheap jokes... I just wonder what 'chic-ly patterned' means... (you'll have to show me that some time, THO)
A well, lore question then.
I was wondering what remains of Elminster's tower in 1479.
Gomez,
who would vote for Ed, were he an US citizen...
I'll second this question. According to canon, it's blown into another plane in 1375 and the 4E books mention that El's living on a farm in 1479.
Is the tower gone for good? Or is it like the Tardis with a rebuilt chameleon chip? |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 18:40:31
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THO in garters... I just got my Christmas presnt early.
And I thank Ed for answering BOTH of my more personal queries... even though I had retracted that first one (it was a 'heat of the moment' post - VERY stupid).
And Ed did manage to make me feel better - he has that way about him (and he DOES give GREAT interview). Unlike many other designers/authors, when he speaks I feel nary any trepedition. Also looking forward to eventually reading my children that Christmas book (or more likely my Grandchildren at this point). He really does seem like the kind of guy you just want to be near and listen to all day long (and I hope someday of having the pleasure of meeting him in person).
I guess I'll wait for his Returned Abeir articles for that other lore (yes, that was a not-so-subtle hint - sorry).
When I awoke this morning they were talking about that J.K. Rowlings book on The View (yes.. I watch the view... just shutup), and they mentioned the fact that 100% ( !!!) of the proceeds goes to children's charities... so I full-well expect everyone here to go out and buy twenty copies.
The reason why I bring this up is because watching that made me think of a question... one which he has so timely answered before I even got to ask it!
I wanted to know if he was a fan of her work, and obviously, he is.
Thanks for answering a question mere moments before I even got to post it - you continue to amaze me, Ed.
You amaze me, as well, THO... but in other ways. |
"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 04 Dec 2008 18:43:59 |
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createvmind
Senior Scribe
490 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 20:20:44
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Thank you for that response.
Sorry your friend lost her job, hope she bounces back quick. |
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gomez
Learned Scribe
Netherlands
254 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 21:24:41
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quote:
Originally posted by gomez
who would vote for Ed, were he an US citizen...
Sorry, my uttermost apologies, I of course ment 'Canadian'!
Which, no offense intended, I probably would enjoy better than being a US citizen...
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Zandilar
Learned Scribe
Australia
313 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 22:19:50
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Heya,
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
When I awoke this morning they were talking about that J.K. Rowlings book on The View (yes.. I watch the view... just shutup), and they mentioned the fact that 100% (!!!) of the proceeds goes to children's charities... so I full-well expect everyone here to go out and buy twenty copies.
If I'm not mistaken, that would be The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book that began life as a book mentioned in the last Harry Potter book. (Just wanted to clarify for scribes who might not know.)
I do have a series of questions for Ed. Could you describe the way the typical person sits on a horse in the Realms? Is there a commonly accepted seat? Does it vary from place to place and from saddle to saddle? For specific examples, how does the seat (and saddles) of a rider vary between Cormyr and Amn (or Calimshan)?
I know there is horse racing, but are there any other forms of horse sports, such as along the lines of dressage, show jumping, and eventing? Where am I likely to find people jousting if at all?
I think I've asked enough questions there to last a while, so I'll leave it at that. Thanks for any answers you can share, Ed. |
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. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2008 : 22:58:43
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Epic-level snippage going on here -
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Yes, I have been writing an annual Christmas story to read aloud at the public library where I work, in Port Hope, Ontario (this year, I’m reading at 4:30 pm this Friday, after famous Canadian author Farley Mowat - - and I’ll start by reading one of the short tales contained in THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD, the just-released [or will be, by then] and very short new book by J.K. Rowling).
I was responding to this in particular, Zandilar, which already clearly states what the book is.
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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 05 Dec 2008 06:48:23 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2008 : 03:54:59
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Hello again, all. Ed returns with replies to Zandilar, about these queries she posted not long ago at all: “I do have a series of questions for Ed. Could you describe the way the typical person sits on a horse in the Realms? Is there a commonly accepted seat? Does it vary from place to place and from saddle to saddle? For specific examples, how does the seat (and saddles) of a rider vary between Cormyr and Amn (or Calimshan)?
I know there is horse racing, but are there any other forms of horse sports, such as along the lines of dressage, show jumping, and eventing? Where am I likely to find people jousting if at all?
I think I've asked enough questions there to last a while, so I'll leave it at that. Thanks for any answers you can share, Ed.”
Ed replies:
Hi, Zandilar. You’re very welcome - - and you’re in luck; by the globe-spanningly long arm of coincidence, I happen to have just answered some very similar questions for someone else re. something I can’t really say much more about yet, so here are some swift responses for you.
Although passing “fashion” and the humps of camels and some other more fantastic (as in: in the Realms, but no our real-world) beasts that have spine fins or humps or bony plates have from time to time and place to place caused something akin to the “sidesaddle” riding style to be employed, the typical stance of a rider in the Realms is straddling the mount directly, facing the mount’s neck (as in, with one leg on either side of the beast). Stirrups are used, and a saddle with high cantels (upswept horn-like projections, fore and aft, that cradle [and for some war-saddles, even attempt to partially shield] the rider. These cantels are typically of stout, smooth-carved and polished wood, and are pierced to allow a variety of metal rings to be affixed to them (that belts, baldrics, and straps are affixed to, to scabbard weapons, furled cloaks, slung javelins, helms, and so on.
(There’s another sort of “cantel” or “cantle” in the Realms, too: when combatants hew each other with swords so fiercely that pieces of flesh fly off them, those pieces are “cantels” or “cantles.” Both uses of this world are archaic real-world, BTW; I chose to use them, but didn’t invent them.)
Not all saddles have high horns both front and back (if one is missing entirely, it is usually the rear one, sacrificed to allow bedrolls and the like to be strapped there, and a second “passenger” rider to be sat on them [holding onto the first rider rather than having stirrups or a saddle of their own]), and of course all saddles vary slightly, because they’re all handmade (even in a large saddlery, the closest thing in the Realms to a “saddle factory,” there are many saddle-makers, not robots or machines). So in real-world terms, all saddles would be “quasi-Western” and not “English.”
Although there are many horse-tamers and a few skilled horse trainers, and “everyone who rides is taught to stay on by village elders or older relatives or more experienced co-workers,” there is no codified practice of equestrianship. “Everyone understands” the physical needs of horses and the efficiency of moving in balance and cadence with a mount (leaning with the horse, for example, except when trying to offset its weight on a loose-footing slope and prevent a slip, roll, or outright fall), but riders use a wide variety of training methods to communicate with mounts, from the whip and shouts or mouth-clucks, reins, mind-magic, croonings, and even bites!
Some riding beasts with long necks are customarily ridden by sitting on the shoulders of the animals, almost against the neck, and the rider may often encircle the neck with their arms to stay on or while guiding the animal.
In the Sword Coast North, the trade route through Iriaebor, Cormyr, and the Dalelands, riders tend to sit upright except when dodging arrows or at full gallop, stirrups are used, and spurs sometimes and sometimes not.
In Sembia, Amn, the Moonsea North, and Calimshan, spike-spurs and the whip are added, whereas in the Tashalar and the Shaar there’s more barefoot riding, with no spurs at all. As one moves southeast and east, one finds increasing use of something almost unknown in western Faerûn (except Chult, where it of old was used on elephants): the goad, or hooked (sometimes barbed) rod, wielded by the rider to claw at the shoulders or head of the mount. In Murghom, Raurin, and points east, many goads have whips trailing from their butts (and can readily be reversed to use just as a whip). In Calimshan, the Lake of Steam area, and the Tashalar, mind-magic is usually used to train riding mounts; in the Border Kingdoms, Tethyr, and areas north of those places (with the notable exception of Rashemen), magic is seldom used to train riding beasts, though a wizard or priest clumsy and unused to riding may well employ spells to control a particular mount they find themselves on.
Hunts (like fox hunts, with much use of horns, and usually chasing a speedy ”great cat” or other predatory monster), steeplechases across country (with specific hazards as part of the route, that often involve jumping) and jousting are common sports among horsebreeders, nobles, and carnivals (all of whom sometimes stage such events as entertainments for visiting envoys or a travelling royal court), all over Faerûn from Tethyr and the Border Kingdoms north and east (in the Vilhon and Turmish, chariot races were once popular but have no almost vanished, though they yet flourish in Unther and Mulhorand; wagon-races involving loaded wagons and teams of oxen or horses were once popular across the North, but were so bloody that they have either been banned or fallen out of popularity). Simple point-to-point horse races, often the length of a village street or some equivalent, are still popular everywhere. I rural areas, ploughing matches can be added to the “popular” competitions, with “show riders” (acrobatic folks who stand on their saddles, or jump somersaults from their saddles, or perform lifts and handstands and the like, all from the saddles of moving mounts) as entertainments.
Dressage as we know it, with critical judging of form, is NOT well known in the Realms. The closest thing to it are parades of costumed mounts and riders that hold poses to tell stories (usually retell heroic deeds of the past) or show off elaborate fashions or decorations or spell out messages, that are performed for rulers (“show mounts” with riders depicting heroic deeds by the ancestors of a king, paraded for him on his birthday or anniversary of his coronation, for instance).
(A real-world note: my closest friend, when I was very young, was a member of Canada’s premiere “horsey” family of the time, one of whom jumped for Canada in the Olympics and world championships many times. Just north of where I lived was one of the several “Windfields Farms” then owned by E.P. Taylor, a millionaire who bred horses that won many races. I grew up loving horses, riding great thoroughbreds that had been put out to pasture, and falling off horses on many, many jumps (yes, I played polo, and often fell out of my saddle doing that, too, plus in one memorable match, ended up riding an opponent’s horse, right behind him, still trying to strike at the ball with my mallet. So from the first, I wanted horses and horsemanship in the Realms.)
So saith Ed, who knows a thing or three about falling off horses. And once rode a horse in a race so wet and muddy that when it ended, horses and riders had to be hosed down before anyone could be identified. Ed finished fourth, but on someone else’s horse (having got back on the wrong one at a wallow where about five mounts and riders were floundering around in the muck). His horse finished second, with someone else on it. no, I have no idea how the race was scored, because Ed doesn’t remember. He also remembers one race along forest “rides” in light snow, that turned into a race in a blinding blizzard, that became a debacle of lost riders and horses. He “won” that one by being the first to find his way to the finish line. However, he tells me that it’s been years since he’s been on a horse, and would probably have trouble (bad knees and all) even getting on and off a horse, these days.
love to all,
THO
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Gelcur
Senior Scribe
523 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2008 : 04:29:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
THO in garters... I just got my Christmas presnt early.
A merry Christmas for all indeed.
Hooded Lady would you kindly send off another inquiry to Ed. This talk of Thayan enclaves has got me thinking.
We have dates of creation of many of the major Inner Sea enclaves. But we don't hear mention of the Thayan enclaves in Baldur's Gate or Waterdeep till more recently. There is no mention of them in either Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast or Volo's Guide to Waterdeep. Is it safe to assume that they are fairly new occurrences, 1368-1372? I'd assume the one in the Gate would be slightly older being that they are more excepting their?
Thank you once again. |
The party come to a town befallen by hysteria
Rogue: So what's in the general store?
DM: What are you looking for?
Rogue: Whatevers in the store.
DM: Like what?
Rogue: Everything.
DM: There is a lot of stuff.
Rogue: Is there a cart outside?
DM: (rolls) Yes.
Rogue: We'll take it all, we may need it for the greater good. |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2008)
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