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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Jan 2009 : 05:08:08
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Perhaps TSR / WotC made a mistake statting out Elminster and other characters over the years. Too many have mistaken the setting as being about the Chosen, instead of using them as effective plot devices.
Another question for Ed and THO : of the menial jobs in Waterdeep, I think few could be more dangerous than sewer maintenance, with all the criminal going-ons, creatures, and traffic to and from Skullport and Undermountain. What precautions and defenses does the Dungsweepers guild require of their brethren? Does the trade have an especially high "turnover"? Do journeymen end up with the most perilous duties, or is there some system that spreads the risk around? Sincerest thank yous. |
Edited by - RodOdom on 10 Jan 2009 05:24:46 |
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Garret.Dorigan
Acolyte
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2009 : 20:11:20
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Hello good Lady and kind sir! I've been lurking on these forums for, literally, years, never registering to ask a question or any some such. Just reveling in the copious amount of bubbly Realmslore thrown about in all of the topics... but I have an exciting (Albeit personally exciting.) turn of events come my way that force my hand to post a query.
I am not a player. (Gasp!) My only playtime with any pen and paper was a short lived 2nd Edition jaunt into the Realms in my formative years. (I believe I was 6.) But, that started me onto Realms fiction. After passing around some of my novels to friends who DO play, I have been aproached to be a "Subject Matter Expert" (Although I feel not nearly qualified  )for the DM on anything he may need clarification on. He has also approached me about playing a recycleable PC, a character that basically does the same as I do for him, just for the three sets of players and their characters. After tirelessly pooring over all of the author scrolls I feel somewhat equipped for this challenge, but there are a few questions posed that I don't have answers for... thus, I come here. And now that the personal narrative is over, the list! (Dun dun DUNNN!!)
1) In one of the scrolls there was a question about Genasi in the Realms, and I believe there was talk of either Para-/Quasi-Genasi (Or one subset specifically.) and whether they could be found in the Realms, though the memory becomes fuzzy. Anyway, I second whatever the original question was and wish to tack on as it were. What regions specifically, if they are even in the Realms, would Para-/Quasi- Genasi be found in, more frequently? Also, would they be acknowledged as being Para/Quasi, or would most learned folk just say they are one of their parental Genasi?
2) Do certain regions have a specific armor setup for their armies, much like Dark Ages countries had specific quirks for their armies in our world? Not so much on the point of "The Purple Dragons wear plate most of the time, Sembians..." but more that, do regions wear different helm types to stand out from others and what are some examples if so?
3) Where, if anywhere, could one find a trenchcoat? Not in a type made famous by the Matrix movies, but more along the lines of the character of Jeffery Chauser in 'A Knights Tale'. A better description would most likely be, similar to a French toggled longcoat of the Hundred Years War.
4) Is there Brigadine in the realms? And if so, where could one find an armorer to convert coats and vests to such? My guess would be Cormyr, but...?
5) Are there any jobs in the Realms that are un-glamorous but well paying, in the same vane as American garbage men (I'm sorry, Sanitation Professionals.) making almost $50,000 a year in most regions?
I talk overmuch. I apologize for being verbose, but they have posed specific questions to me. (Minus the Genasi question, that is in relation to my charater.) I await for you to reply at your leisure Ed.
Now, Ms. Wristwatch-and-a-Smile, I do have questions specifically for you, but I'm sure that this scroll is not the place to speak of such things.  |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2009 : 20:16:25
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Why, Garret.Dorigan, what wonderful questions! Off they go to Ed, who I'm sure will at least have a stab at starting to answer them very swiftly.
As for your questions for me, purrrrrr. I await them, whenever and wherever. I'll even take off my wristwatch.
love,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2009 : 20:17:01
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Hello again, all. I bring you Ed’s latest serving of Realmslore, this time a beginning on replying to the eight Thunderstone-and-vicinity questions posted by Asgetrion back in mid-December.
Here’s the query Ed’s dealing with in today’s post:
“Greetings, Milady THO and Ed! I have been running a Pathfinder Beta playtest campaign, which is set in Thunderstone, in Cormyr. I have written a lot of material for it, but since a lot of the events in the campaign have taken place outside the town, the players have not interacted a lot with NPCs outside their "inner" circle (i.e. families and shopkeepers and prominent allies, such as tutors). I'm still fleshing out details, and filling in stuff as the campaign progresses and the PCs are drawn deeper into local intrigue, and therefore I have a plethora of questions for you:
1) Which noble families have holdings in or around Thunderstone?”
Ed replies:
(The time of the lore that follows is around 1370 DR.)
Between the Thunderflow and (a line of hills that borders) the Vast Swamp is a verdant band of farming and ranching country (rolling, grassy hillsides, hedgerows, wandering dirt lanes and small woodlots) and it’s also what’s sometimes referred to in our real world as “karst” country (springs rise, run along the surface, and then disappear down sinkholes, and there are lots of subterranean streams, hidden caves, and limestone, which means most waters run clear and pure). It’s well-watered by meltwater streams running southwest, down from the Thunder Peaks, and the prevailing winds (usually fairly constant, steady, mild breezes) mean it gets a lot of sun; clouds tend to scud swiftly across the sky, not settle in and cause overcasts. As a result, crops grow well and livestock fattens up swiftly, so a lot of wealthy Cormyrean families (and that of course includes the nobles) have holdings here, even if they’re only farms worked by commoner tenants.
That doesn’t mean that the same “lot” of noble families visit Thunderstone often, or own dwellings in or near the village.
In Thunderstone proper, the Hawklin family owns a row of stores along “the Rise,” the main street (that parallels the Thunder River), and two homes: a modest dwelling with stables in its own small walled orchard and garden, hight “Thundershaws” and used for putting up guests, business clients, and sometimes by certain Hawklins who want to entertain away from the rest of their kin; and Hawklinforce, a stone mansion with its own high stone walls, stables, wagon sheds, and brewhouse. From “the Force,” local factors (trade agents) of the Hawklins administer the dozen ranches and crop farms (cabbages, barley, oats, and parsnips) owned by the family, and rent out family coaches and wagons to locals for divers purposes. As a result, the Hawklins are prominent locally, their views respected and heeded.
The Huntsilvers maintain a lower local profile. Their tall-towered stone mansion is known as Hunting Castle, and has an impressive stone wall and stout front gates, but isn’t otherwise fortified. It is perhaps the most defensible large building in Thunderstone, but its small enclosed grounds are crowded with large, old trees (oaks and duskwoods), the boughs of some of which offer easy access to some of the lower Castle windows. There are persistent local rumors of secret tunnels connecting the cellars of Hunting Castle (which are said to contain all manner of gruesome sacrificial cult altars or Loviatar-loving flogging and trysting “dungeons”) with secret passages in the walls of scores of local buildings. According to Elminster, there are two secret passages, meant to allow olden-day Huntsilvers to arrive and depart without being seen by kin or slayers hired by rival noble families, they are guarded by helmed horrors, and there are no altars or pleasure-dens.
In Thunderstone, the Huntsilvers generally keep to themselves, moving about the village in closed coaches or on fast horses. They use Hunting Castle very much as a retreat, in which to read and catch up on hobbies (such as, for several Huntsilver ladies, crafting gowns and practicing at the lute, handharp, and with voice, and reportedly for some Huntsilver males, wenching with “laugh-pretties” brought up from Suzail for such purposes). The family owns about thirty farms, all worked by tenants, well to the south and southwest of Thunderstone.
Hunting Castle and Hawklinforce both back onto the Thunderflow, having their own (modest and largely disused) docks and boathouses, and face onto the “best” street in Thunderstone, the winding Nightcloak Ride, which is lined with most of the better old stone dwellings in the village. It lies largely north and west of the Rise, but hooks sharply south just west of Stag Skull’s Bridge, to intersect with, and end at, the Rise.
The Illances, Naerinths, Summerstars, and Wyvernspurs all own modest walled stone homes in Thunderstone, but visit them seldom (in the general way of nobility, such “nighthearth” houses are used as overnight way-stops when travelling, to host occasional meetings with business associates, and as retreats or trysting sites by individual family members. These four families are locally most active elsewhere (the Summerstars in Firefall Vale, which I shared lore about back in the 2004 replies here at the Keep, I believe [Sage or Wooly or Kuje, please jump in and correct my dating if I’m misremembering], and the other three noble houses largely to the north of the Hullack, or at least of the Thunderflow.
The Immerdusk noble family owns four old but solidly-built homes in Thunderstone, and owns six farms just south of the village proper. All are worked or inhabited by tenants, and Immerdusks are so seldom seen in this region that many locals believe them to be extinct, and that the factors speaking for them are actually courtiers working for the Crown, who just won’t admit that they’ve taken over the chattels and holdings of the Immerdusks.
House Indesm owns a shop on the Rise and maintains very modest lodgings (a suite of four rooms, occupying an entire floor) above it, with the shopkeeper and his family dwelling in the gabled and dormered attic above them. However, they are seen in Thunderstone seldom, and come and go without fanfare or much in the way of coaches, outriders, servants, and the like. The Indesms own sixteen ranches and farms, mainly east of Thunderstone. All are worked by tenants, though the Indesms visit and inspect them often. This family keeps mainly to the hold of Hawkhar (sometimes called Hawkhar Keep or more often and formally “Hawkhar Hall,” though most folk these days now call it simply “Hawkhar”), consisting of a fortified stone mansion and tower at the heart of a walled horse-farm where many fine mounts are bred, reared, and trained. The walls also enclose a small woodlot and orchard, and have an outer “thrust” or loop of wall, pierced by two always-open gates, that cradles the hamlet of Hawkhar, a small settlement dominated by the families of Indesm servants.
The Indesms are typical of most Cormyrean nobility in the countryside; they have and dominate their own settlement or hold, and only visit and rent or own dwellings in the villages, towns, and cities of the realm. The other three Thunderstone-home-owning noble families follow this pattern, too; they are the Houses of Buckfast, Haelbroke, and Yellander.
For more about the Yellanders, interested readers are directed to SWORDS OF DRAGONFIRE. This House did not end with the execution of the lord who featured therein, because King Azoun would not hear of the three estranged and blameless-of-treason Yellander nieces who dwelt in Suzail being shamed and paupered by the actions of Lord Prester Yellander. The War Wizards had already thoroughly upset the three with sudden, brusque mind-reamings (which confirmed their utter innocence; they were wholly unaware of Lord Prester’s drug-smugglings, or his assembling of a private army and the murders he directed them to do). One of the three nieces, Anathae, was a longtime friend and confidant of Queen Filfaeril, who took charge of the rather dazed Anathae and briskly steered her into marriage to a commoner she’d long had eyes on, a Palace courtier by the name of Hresker Falbruin. So there’s now a capable and tactful Lord Hresker Falbruin, charged by Queen Fee with finding suitable and happy mates for Anathae’s two sisters, Paerile and Tannaura (a process that is taking years because both of them are rather shy, delicate ladies and Hresker, Anathae, and Filfaeril are all agreed that the very last thing that should happen is settling them with less than ideal partners).
Hresker and Anathae Yellander now dwell in Whitewings (the renamed Yellander seat in Galdyn's Gorge, a modest, unwalled keep-and-attached stone mansion surrounded by gardens and a deep, wooden-spike-filled ditch to discourage marauding wilderland monsters; its new name comes from all the doves raised for food by Anathae’s longtime maids, who came from farming families known for their flavourful dove pies), visiting Suzail only for major Councils and at the end of summer. Prester Yellander’s simple, rustic hunting lodge on the edge of the Hullack Forest sits disused, and will soon fall into ruin if not maintained.
Less well known in Suzail are the poorer, more rustic local noble families of Buckfast and Haelbroke. These “true bloods of the Thunderflow” lead lusty lives of running their farms directly, brewing and distilling, imbibing the results, and hunting from the saddle.
They also seem to have “ridden” great numbers of willing local lasses, and are impoverished in part because of all the bastard offspring they help to support - - which has linked them, time and again, to divers local families, businesses, and farms.
Their byblows have been sent literally by the score into the ranks of local Purple Dragons, who are inclined to look the other way at Buckfast and Halebroke indiscretions, which in turn has encouraged male members of these houses to becoming accomplished rakes, drunkards, and local “rowdies” behind many a local brawl, wildly whooping midnight gallop, accidental fire, and prank.
The current patriarch of the Buckfasts is Lord Rothtil Buckfast, whose hardy, lusty, fun-loving mate is Lady Suvreene Buckfast, and they dwell with three sons (including the family heir, Ravance) and five daughters at the family seat of Buckhaven Hall, a walled manor house and ‘home farm’ in the countryside east of Thunderstone. This “heart of the Buckfasts” household also rents rent two rooms above a chandler’s (“Maerikho Hayhondlow, Chandler to High and Low”) on the south front of the Rise.
Other prominent Buckfasts include Melhard, a fat and blustering old bellower of a rake with a legendary capacity for drink, and Sargram, an aging but still deadly fighter-of-duels and bedder of anyone female and handy (the reason for a lot of those duels; noble wives are his favourite quarry, and his outrageously leering flirtatiousness [or “charm” as the ladies tend to prefer to call it] seems to conquer many of them).
The current head of House Haelbroke is Lord Larandyr Haelbroke, a haughty, humourless retired soldier (he recently departed the rank of ornrion, a West Reach posting, in the Purple Dragons when his father Lord Uskarr Haelbroke died, his mother Dardorra having predeceased Uskarr). Larandyr’s stunningly beautiful wife is Lady Mirljarla Haelbroke (formerly a Truesilver), and they dwell with their two daughters, Tasharra (the family heir) and Raedaera at the family seat of Buckhaven Hall, a rather spartan walled keep and ‘home farm’ in the countryside west of Thunderstone. They also rent a luxurious house on Nightcloak Ride in Thunderstone (Nightowl Roost, which is owned by Storm Silverhand but managed for her by the suave estate manager Maland Orlstand of Suzail, a secret Harper) where Lady Mirljarla spends increasing amounts of time entertaining noble lady friends “come out from Suzail to see the rustics.” A glowering Lord Larandyr rarely attends these visits, and the couple’s two daughters are caught in a tussle between their parents for their time and attention (although Tasharra and Raedaera, who have both inherited their mother’s raven-black hair and smoky-eyed good looks and buxom curves, dearly want to see the latest “cityside” fashions and manners, they both LOVE riding, ruling, weapons-practice, and all the other “lordly” stuff their father wants to teach them and do with them, that are more often the province of male nobles when their female counterparts are confined to empty-headed chatter in parlors and “lace-chambers”).
Other prominent Haelbrokes include Galragar, Mresper, and Borlingar. Galragar, the eldest, is Larandyr’s uncle, and the other two are his cousins. Galragar is a fair-haired, unshaven, rollicking meaty bull of a man, load and coarse and jovial. Borlingar is a younger, dark-haired echo of Galragar, whereas Mresper is sly, witty, slender, and agile. All three are tirelessly-energetic roisterers, wenchers (Mresper may on occasion also prefer young and handsome male partners), and fun-seekers, the bright stars of every revel they take part in. They are always thinking up some new “society” or club or prank, some entertainment for themselves and those who “ride with them” to take part in; Larandyr’s last attempt to host a solemn feast for Suzailan lords he desired to impress was “pranced” (in the real world, we would say “crashed”) by Galragar and Borlingar leading a dozen strapping local lads, most of them wealthy or highborn or both, all riding horses and wearing heavy makeup and beautiful womens’ gowns, garters, and all, into the ballroom to a skidding dismount and wild dance with the attending - - and utterly astonished - - noble lords. This is a typical prank, neither a highlight or lowlight, but it strengthened Larandyr’s cold distaste towards all three of his “wild wolves” of kin, whom he disowns and shuns at every opportunity. (His house wizard, a lean and homely mage by the name of Baerglan Dunstag, who is of course a War Wizard, refuses to let Larandyr bar his gates to the three or move to try to legally dispossess them [an effort that would fail, anyway, as only the Crown can strip someone of their rightful heritage, and then only by exiling them and taking away their citizenship as well], but Larandyr refuses to recognize or speak to them, always addressing cutting remarks to any of the three to any handy servant or statue or potted plant, loudly enough for the shunned kin he wants to hear, to do so. For their parts, the three are amused at Larandyr’s attitude, not upset or ashamed.)
Those are the living nobles. There are indeed a handful of extinct ones that will serve for answering your second question. For now, enjoy (I hope) this lore.
So saith Ed, whose deep love for Cormyr shows. Damian, will you be a dashing knight and update the Cormyr compilation thread?
love to all,
THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2009 : 20:54:19
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
(snip)
These four families are locally most active elsewhere (the Summerstars in Firefall Vale, which I shared lore about back in the 2004 replies here at the Keep, I believe [Sage or Wooly or Kuje, please jump in and correct my dating if I’m misremembering], and the other three noble houses largely to the north of the Hullack, or at least of the Thunderflow.
(snip)
March 4th, 2004. 
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1901&whichpage=5 |
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!  |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 10 Jan 2009 20:56:38 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2009 : 23:52:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
(snip)
These four families are locally most active elsewhere (the Summerstars in Firefall Vale, which I shared lore about back in the 2004 replies here at the Keep, I believe [Sage or Wooly or Kuje, please jump in and correct my dating if I’m misremembering], and the other three noble houses largely to the north of the Hullack, or at least of the Thunderflow.
(snip)
March 4th, 2004.
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1901&whichpage=5
Actually, to save scribes the efforts of scrolling down to find that particular entry, I'll improve on Wooly's linking attempt and remind scribes that Ed's entry on Firefall Vale was specially prepared for the "Realms Lore" section of Candlekeep here:- http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/firefall.htm |
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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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2009 : 00:07:33
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hello again, all. I bring you Ed’s latest serving of Realmslore, this time a beginning on replying to the eight Thunderstone-and-vicinity
So saith Ed, whose deep love for Cormyr shows. Damian, will you be a dashing knight and update the Cormyr compilation thread?
love to all,
THO
My Pleasure Good Lady - more outstanding Lore to help us build our own Realms upon.
Please pass on my personal thanks to Ed 
Now, I just need to do a bit of 'creative backfilling' to fit some of this into my Thunderstone and the current campaign, the PC's are going to have a suprise or three very soon..... 
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 |
Edited by - crazedventurers on 11 Jan 2009 00:19:41 |
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2009 : 00:18:58
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Question on Eveningstar if I may please?
On the map featured in the Haunted Halls of Eveningstar and the Waterdeep modules (Avatar Crisis), there is a second river/stream shown to the west of the Starwater bordering the Temple lands - what is is called please and is it more stream than river?
Thanks
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 - 11 Jan 2009 : 02:34:32
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Damian, I'm away from my notes at the moment and can't recall the name, so will have to wait for Ed to answer, but it is indeep more stream than river, and I THINK had "stream" in its name, locally, as in "XXXX Stream."
Sigh. Getting old, memories going . . .
In the meantime,
hello again, all. As promised, Ed has a very swift reply for most of Garret.Dorigan’s questions (the exception is the Genasi query, which Ed has to consult about; his preliminary opinion is that most humans don’t distinguish well between sorts of genasi, though halflings and elves and gnomes do), so here we go:
“2) Do certain regions have a specific armor setup for their armies, much like Dark Ages countries had specific quirks for their armies in our world? Not so much on the point of "The Purple Dragons wear plate most of the time, Sembians..." but more that, do regions wear different helm types to stand out from others and what are some examples if so?”
Ed replies:
All armor is of course handmade, and almost every helm is subtly different.
However, in general, as of 1370 DR, most realms in the Heartlands have helms for knights, nobles, cavalry and officers that resemble real-world historical “great helms” in general looks (full front “prow” faceplate, with two eyeslits and some breathing-holes down near the lower front or beak), except that the frontplate IS a hinged visor, either up-and-down or side-hinged. A gorget to protect the throat will be worn underneath, and usually this goes with plate armor that has an upstanding protective collar that fits outside the helm (and the head wearing it, so there’s room to turn your head without striking your own collar), too. Some sort of plate armor is usual for armored persons of such rank.
General infantry wear chainmail with breastplates, backplates, and plate-fittings at all the joints (elbows, shoulders), and have helms like historical barbutes or “Milanese” style: open slit down the front that widens into two eye-holes at its top, separated by a reinforced noseguard. Castle guards and bodyguards will have better armor than this “augmented” chainmail.
Militia will wear conical “cap” helms or older salvaged helms of all sorts, usually with an attached throat and neck-guard of leather-studded-with-sewn-on salvaged (and thus irregular in size and shape) metal plates. Their armor may be just about anything, from heavy leather “jacks” on up.
The only general comments that can be made about helm styles are these: Aside from the “show” guards flanking some city gates, the gates of Piergeiron’s Palace, and the front gates of Castle Waterdeep, Waterdeep has EVERYTHING, because its folk come from everywhere and merchants and local armorers are constantly introducing new designs. Cormyrean helms are rather English in looks, lacking the pointed “duckbill” or “beak” visors of French design, but the armies of Tethyr, Amn, the Vilhon, and (because they’re mercenaries, drawn from elsewhere [such as the Vilhon]) Westgate and Sembia DO have basinet-style helms with those pointed visors. The sallet (helm with sweeping or lengthened “tail” or back-of-neck-guard) style of helm is favoured in Tethyr and down the Sword Coast, but less often seen elsewhere. And finally, Cormyrean helms tend to have rounded tops, but Sembian helms (and those of Chessenta and around the eastern Inner Sea) have “tall,” pointed-top shapes (in other words, high peaks that enclose some empty air above the scalp).
These are generalizations, remember, because only a few realms have large standing armies with anything approaching a “uniform equipage code” (the Purple Dragons are one such force). Two of the original series of FR supplements (the Horde Campaign and Gold & Glory) have Osprey-style paintings of typical military uniforms of the day that can be consulted for a “general look,” but in a pinch, an individual warrior can be wearing almost anything and the DM can explain it away as a local variance (some places have blacksmiths rather than skilled armorers, and some armories and garrisons have only a few “bright and presentable” suits of war-harness, in only a few sizes, and improvise for everyone else, covering the worst bits with strapped-on shields and bindings of cloth that echo the proper battle-colors on everyone else’s surcoats.
“3) Where, if anywhere, could one find a trenchcoat? Not in a type made famous by the Matrix movies, but more along the lines of the character of Geoffrey Chaucer in 'A Knights Tale'. A better description would most likely be, similar to a French toggled longcoat of the Hundred Years War.”
Ed replies:
As I recall, the Chaucer character showed up NAKED in that film. :} It was the Black Prince (in the scene with Heath Ledger’s hero in the stocks) who wore a magnificent longcoat.
To answer your question for the Realms, you can find such coats almost anywhere in the Heartlands and Sword Coast North, worn by those who must stand or walk distances in the outdoors in almost all seasons except the hottest summer months (and even then, in prolonged driving rain, someone with access to his longcoat might get it out). They are made by tanners and leatherworkers in many, many Faerûnian communities. However, they tend to be owned and worn only by those of means (nobles and the wealthy, and higher-ranking officers); most non-combatants and those of less coin in the Realms wear “weathercloaks” instead, which are almost-down-to-the-ankle-length cloaks, lighter than leather and lacking fastenings except brooches (pins). Weathercloaks blow around more and don’t provide as much protection against cold winds, being as they cling to the arms and shoulders when pinned shut.
“4) Is there Brigandine in the realms? And if so, where could one find an armorer to convert coats and vests to such? My guess would be Cormyr, but...?”
Ed replies:
One can find armorers to do such work in many, many places (cities, large market towns along trade routes, and in dwarven and gnome-dominated settlements everywhere), because reinforcing garments with sewn-on or secured-with-links metal strips is journeyman and ’prentice work, and (like sharpening knives and daggers) part of the daily “bread and butter” coin-earning livelihood of any armorer or smith (yes, any smith can make brigandine, though really good overlapping or not-obvious-as-brigandine-to-the-eye brigandine requires a skilled armorer or at least the close supervision of someone with those skills).
However, making brigandine also requires a skilled leatherworker (the same sort of skills needed for leather or hide armor, or splint mail work, or the making of leather underpadding for full coat-of-plate armor). One can’t just attach shaped pieces of metal to an existing garment; the result will be something that “hangs heavy,” hampering the wearer’s movements, that doesn’t provide proper overlapping coverage during battle (when one twists, trots, swings weapons, and so on), and that can even cut or bruise the wearer. Proper brigandine requires taking the garment apart and rebuilding it in overlapped layers, with a lot of new leather being sewn on.
Any armorer good enough to keep a business going for more than a season will have a spouse, children, aging parents or other relatives, or apprentices or journeymen working for him or her who can do the necessary leather-work to make brigandine armor, or will be able to do the leather-work him/herself. Brigandine armor rots and falls apart (thanks to the metal reinforcements cutting into the leather when struck by weapons, and thanks to rust discharges and the weight of the metal) faster than most other sorts of armor, so repaired secondhand brigandine armor is a plentiful commodity - - but secondhand brigandine armor requiring MORE repair is even more plentiful in shops and smithies.
However, the short answer to your question is that armorers can be found in almost all cities and large towns, and many other places along trade routes or in dwarf or gnome (or orc, for that matter!) communities, and that all armorers can modify garments into brigandine armor. Whether they will agree to do so or not is, of course, a roleplaying matter.
“5) Are there any jobs in the Realms that are un-glamorous but well paying, in the same vein as American garbage men (I'm sorry, Sanitation Professionals) making almost $50,000 a year in most regions?”
Ed replies:
Yes, but how plentiful these jobs are, what they are, and the local definition of “well paying” varies widely across the Realms. For instance, gravedigging is poorly-paid and unglamorous in some places, but very well paid in others. Sewer-work in Waterdeep (because it’s guilded work, and highly dangerous to boot) is VERY well paid, but unpleasant and unglamorous. Stonemason-work concerned with fortifications (castle and wall repairs, or shoring up vaulted cellars everywhere, as well as “mining” to enlarge cellars or tunnels or privy-chutes, plus lining same to prevent collapses) is generally unglamorous and underappreciated by wider society, but is always well paid. Animal-training (and monster live-capturing, which is almost always adventurers’ work) tends to be unglamorous but well rewarded. So, for that matter, is finding and bringing back alive or in good condition rare plants (or eggs) for herbalists and alchemists. The painting and plastering of grand rooms in palaces and nobles’ mansions, and the styling of hair and the custom fitting and making of garments for such persons, is also generally unglamorous but well paid. And so on. In some communities, smiths, plumberers, and butchers (slaughterers) are paid well for unglamorous work. So are bed-nurses for royalty and nobility, particularly those who bathe, tend, and guard the mad or long-term-afflicted . . . and royal or noble tasters, who sample the food and drink of important persons to “take the fall” for them if bad cooking or murderous malice are suspected.
I could go on listing particular occupations in particular places for a long time. In general, if a job is dangerous or unpleasant and the hirer wants discretion (or absolute secrecy) from the person doing that job, rewards are high. One seldom thought-of such job is the person who discreetly writes love letters or job applications or delicate apologies on behalf of noble or royal patrons, or wealthy patrons seeking to deal with nobility or royalty. In short, a scribe who poses as another person, writing for them and keeping both the writing task and the contents of what was written VERY secret. A variant on this (believed to be the source of one court lady’s fortune, some centuries ago in Cormyr) is the writer of “lust tales” [explicit porn] or “heartwarms” [flowery romance] intended only for the eyes of one royal patron (and sometimes written “to order,” naming specific persons or acts to be described). In rarer cases, bards secretly hire others to write their jokes, or royal patrons hire others to write “their” ballads and witty poems.
So saith Ed. Who will, I fondly trust, return with the reply to Asgetrion’s second question (about extinct noble families in the Thunderstone area) tomorrow.
love to all,
THO
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Garret.Dorigan
Acolyte
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2009 : 02:51:56
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Ah, a speedy reply! Thank you much both Lady and Sir. I'm sure once I relate these answers to the concerned parties I will come back with more questions. And I can't wait for the answer on Genasi.
Also, Ms. Hooded, some of my questions to you are in a message to you. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2009 : 03:04:35
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Hel-LO, dahling. I have received that message, and have replied. I like to be quick, too. Sometimes.
love,
THO |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 11 Jan 2009 03:06:13 |
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rjfras
Learned Scribe
261 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2009 : 06:23:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Baleful Avatar
Gentlemen, gentlemen, we have GOT to get some new jokes in here. On the table, right about now.
(And no, that wasn't a suggestion directed at THO.)
Rather, I have another (serious) question for Ed. In a typical small rural village in the Heartlands, not on a major trade-route, what sort of selection of ointments, medicines, and jars of folk remedies for sickness or wounds or infections would be available? True antidotes for snake bites or insect stings? (I'm not talking magic, here, just physical stuff.) Or does it vary too much to give a "typical" village answer?
How common is good medical knowledge, among village elders or local "wise women" or whatever?
Thanks!
Ed's reply back on March 4th of 2004 might be a good place to start about medical knowledge in the Realms. You can find it here http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1901&whichpage=5
It's towards the top of a long reply and the part you want starts out "Bookwyrm, I see medical knowledge as varying widely across the Realms, but" and consists of 5 short paragraphs.
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Edited by - rjfras on 11 Jan 2009 06:25:36 |
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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2009 : 06:32:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Garret.Dorigan
5) Are there any jobs in the Realms that are un-glamorous but well paying, in the same vane as American garbage men (I'm sorry, Sanitation Professionals.) making almost $50,000 a year in most regions?
Garret, did my question about the Dungsweeper's guild lead to this question? Or is it coincidence? |
Edited by - RodOdom on 11 Jan 2009 06:32:51 |
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Garret.Dorigan
Acolyte
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jan 2009 : 23:03:58
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quote:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Garret.Dorigan
5) Are there any jobs in the Realms that are un-glamorous but well paying, in the same vane as American garbage men (I'm sorry, Sanitation Professionals.) making almost $50,000 a year in most regions?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garret, did my question about the Dungsweeper's guild lead to this question? Or is it coincidence?
Quite coincedence, actually. I had the 'Post a reply' screen open for a long while (Confirming the content of the questions with Aren, the DM.) before actually sending it. The last reply I saw was THO's containing the 'wristwatch' comment.  Meh, great minds think alike, eh? |
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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2009 : 01:14:46
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| And fools rarely differ ! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2009 : 01:56:09
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Hi again, fellow scribes. I bring you once more the lore-words of Ed of the Greenwood, this time in response to two queries.
First, crazedventurers asked the name of the stream in Eveningstar that runs down the west side of the temple lands; Damian, Ed confirms that it’s called “Starglimmer Stream” (or more often just “the Starglimmer”). The priests of the local temple have dubbed it “Morningstar Rill” in honour of Lathander, but no one outside of the temple uses this name or would even know what it referred to, if they heard it. Some elder inhabitants of Eveningstar refer to the stream by its nickname of “Bloodwater Brook,” which came from an old battle between skirmishing nobles in the civil strife of Salember’s Regency, wherein local legend holds the waters briefly ran red with the blood of the fallen.
It strikes the eye as a shallow, fast-running, coldwater stream about eight to ten feet below the level of the surrounding land, that has cut a winding streambed about twenty feet across (as root-choked earthen banks erode and tumble down). Like all fast watercourses, it undercuts its banks on the outsides of curves and deposits large gravel bars on the insides. Children play in it (south of the temple lands, that is) and are sent to bathe in it, and occasionally a goodwife will soak a thoroughly-dirtied garment in its waters, held down by stones, for cleansing [i.e. to “wash out” a large bloodstain].
Second, Ed responds to the second of the eight Thunderstone-and-vicinity questions posted by Asgetrion back in mid-December:
“2) Are there any "extinct" local noble families, who might have dabbled into necromancy and/or demon worship, and were either exiled or executed or imprisoned?”
Ed replies:
There are indeed.
Thunderlunnar (or more recently, “Thunderlans;” both terms mean inhabitants of Thunderstone) and other locals might believe the Immerdusks are extinct, but in truth the following noble families, once locally prominent, have vanished: the Houses of Bracebolt, Drauthglas, Mallowbridge, and Tulwood.
According to what local legends once heeds, any or all of these families may well have dabbled with necromantic magic and/or worshipped or consorted with demons, but there are no local tales or suspicions of the old, old Drauthglas clan being exiled, executed, or imprisoned. “Longest gone and least remembered” is how most locals recall them, if at all; an ancient name clinging to the Hullack forest, and no more. So consider them a possible but least likely candidate, of the four choices, and pass on to the others.
The House of Bracebolt flourished in the time of King Duar, and had a reputation for handsome good looks and skill-at-arms, not any interest in magic. Most Bracebolts died in battle (fighting for Cormyr, loyal to the king of the day), but two were imprisoned for short periods on suspicion of murder; one [Lord Helaerd Bracebolt] was acquitted and the other [Lord Rorell “Rory” Bracebolt] escaped from a dungeon, never to be seen again (he was pardoned in absentia when later War Wizard evidence pointed to another person as the murderer, and was widely thought to have lived out his days either “living wild” in the Thunder Peaks or living simply as a forester under another names, somewhere in Battledale or Featherdale).
The family line went extinct in 1225 DR, when the childless, unmarried Lord Belarkus Bracebolt died fighting for the Crown in one of the many, many battle-victories of King Dhalmass.
The Mallowbridges are quite another matter. The males of this family tend to be soft-spoken, smiling men of dark hair, good looks, and cruel lack of morals, who swindle and deceive and cheat their ways through life, employing secretly-hired agents to end unpleasant problems (such as rivals or those they owe coin to) with a sharp dagger some night.
The last Mallowbridge is thought to have died a pauper’s death in the reign of Rhigaerd II, but the family (which rose to nobility in the reign of Andilber, through wealth and battle prowess and informing the Unfortunate King of several plots against him) lost its title and standing (though not properties) by the decree of King Palaghard II, earning this unusual fate because they were suspected of scores of bad deeds, but no hard evidence could be found against them. They had access to dark magic and used it, because every last War Wizard sent to investigate them died, mysteriously torn apart by unseen creatures who left no traces - - creatures who devoured or carried off the heads of the unfortunate mages, and cast many dark and powerful spells on the remains and the death-sites, that prevented other War Wizards from using spells to determine just how they died or what they saw or learned.
So this family are prime candidates for what you have in mind. The patriarch of the House when they gained noble status was Hander Tarius Mallowbridge, created Lord Tarius Mallowbridge (he never used his childhood name “Hander,” which he hated, once his father was dead; Tarius was the name of his grandsire, and his father had been Honder Mallowbridge, leaving the son heartily sick of being called “Hander son of Honder”).
Lord Baeryn Mallowbridge was head of the house when it was stripped of nobility; he was exiled, but his sons Tonthur and Naernyn were not. Both went on to have large families, that finally dwindled down to Esker Mallowbridge (a descendant of Tonthur), who died living alone as a forester in the Hullack, sometime in either the winter of 1331 DR or the spring of 1332 DR.
However, there are many local tales (mostly dark tales of malicious spellcastings) of various Lady Mallowbridges dabbling in magic, sometimes magically ruining young local men after seducing them. Although Mallowbridge wives came from many families (often of wealthy non-noble Marsemban stock), the tales generally portray them as slender, beautiful, and as having long, long dark hair. Elminster attests that many of the never-wed Mallowbridge daughters, who dwelt in various family homes and became aging aunts and then very-long-lived crones, were accomplished sorceresses or trained wizards, and aided and taught each other, waylaying and seizing the scrolls and tomes of traveling mages when they could to increase the “family power.”
The wife of Tarius was Lady Tamglaera, the wife of Baeryn was Lady Anglorae, and the wife of Glarem (the wealthiest and most powerful Lord Mallowbridge between Tarius and Baeryn) was Lady Resildra.
Tonthur’s wife was named Harellae, and she is known to have been powerful in magic, ruthless, fearless, and to have often fared far in the Hullack, walking alone and using spells to slay creatures that she then devoured raw (earning her the nickname “Wildfangs”).
Naeryn’s wife was Oloebrae, a delicate beauty who was masterful in acting and manipulation, and who probably poisoned Naeryn when she tired of him (she went on to take two subsequent husbands, both wealthy merchants of Suzail, and the first of them also died of poison, as did Olobrae’s sons Ithril and Ongammur. Only a daughter, Taeril, outlived her mother, and she did so by fleeing to Waterdeep and disappearing (probably altering her face, taking another name, and plunging into a new life as a drudge-servant or tavern dancer, though one tale whispers that she used spells to appear to be a man, and rose to become a guildmaster; this tale may well be true, or may have arisen because “Taeril” is a name borne by both males and females in Cormyr).
The last candidate family is the House of Tulwood, a line of arrogant, fair-haired, malicious men (and a succession of commoners who married them, because they seemed uniformly unable to attract brides from amongst the nobility of the realm) who were known for skilled swordsmanship, feuding, and personal obsessions. Some were obsessed with worshipping the Cormyrean monarch of the day, some were obsessed with married noblewomen or priestesses they could not have, and some were obsessed with collecting oddities or with mastering strange hobbies (such as tying miniature animals from knotted string, or painting miniature likenesses of lovers on the fingernails and toenails of their wives).
Aside from fighting, riding, wenching, and feuding, however, few of the Lords Tulwood accomplished much, though Lord Baerent Tulwood was that rarest of things: the head of a noble house (during most of the reign of Azoun I) who was also a master swordsmith.
The Tulwoods rose to nobility in the reign of Irbruin, ennobled for military service to the Crown (defending easternmost Cormyr against brigands, monsters, and various self-proclaimed kings of their own fledgling realms). From the first Lord Tulwood, Omburr, the family had many sons and few daughters, tended to embrace military careers, and tended to have short and violent lives. The last of the many Lord Tulwoods was Korlandur, who died in the summer of 1319 DR in a violent fall over a cliff on horseback that shattered most bones of both horse and rider (the plunge may or may not have been due to foul play; Korlandur was a cruel man known for unhesitatingly disfiguring the faces of those he disagreed with by means of his metal-barbed horsewhip, who’d earned himself many foes).
The Tulwoods were bullies who tended to hire mercenaries and wizards to beat any foe who stood up to them (though they were careful never to cross any courtier, local lord or Crown agent, the Obarskyrs, or any of the three “royal” noble families), and many of them dabbled in magic as a hobby (usually without much results, but then, those who succeed in dark summonings and the like seldom want to advertise their successes in a realm so dominated by War Wizards).
One Tulwood, a heir Rantaver (his younger brother Borovan became Lord after the death of their father, Gulthur), was exiled in the reign of Duar (for strongly suspected but not-quite-proven treason), and more than a dozen Tulwoods were imprisoned for short periods, for various violent actions perpetrated against other nobles (or in one case, a visiting envoy from Amn). There are no records of executions, but there are strong suspicions of Tulwoods being involved in dark magic and of summoning demons, so they, too, are candidates.
Perhaps you could use both the Mallowbridge AND Tulwood families, with Bracebolt as a red herring, and REALLY get your players deep into intrigues and shadowy conspiracies and shadows from the past. Heh-heh, and so forth.
So saith Ed, opening up several cans of worms with great glee, it seems to me.
Ah, Cormyr, so dear to my heart and so delightful. May your tale be told, some day and some way.
love to all,
THO
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GoCeraf
Learned Scribe
147 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2009 : 05:38:24
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I've always found "can of wyrms" more appropriate to the setting.
I always get weird looks when I try to make that pun. |
Being sarcastic can be more telling than simply telling. |
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RodOdom
Senior Scribe
USA
509 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2009 : 08:46:28
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| Wow, that's a good chunk of an original campaign setting right there. |
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2009 : 11:47:08
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Thanks Ed for more excellent Lore regarding Cormyte nobles and their doings. The depth of detail is easily tranferable to any game and any other kingdom (Faerun or beyond) by tweaking a name or two - just brilliant.
In general are nobles whose lands are on the edge of the Cormyr more 'earthy' (or whatever the Realms equivilent word is) in their doings and manner (they seem to like riding, hunting and fighting alot etc) than those in cities (who are perhaps more political and mercantile, or am I stereotyping too much!)? Am wondering if they can be this way because the 'reach of the Court' doesn't stretch that far and/or because the Crown take the view that as long as the nobles keep the borders as safe as possible from monsters, Zhents, brigands and creeping Semban interests then they are not overly concerened what the country nobles are doing unless its extremely bad?
Which leads to another question or three..... I know Cormyr is not Feudal as in real earth history European Feudal, but are Nobles who are stuck out in the wilds expected to keep the borders safe, is that part of the 'deal' that keeps them in their position of nobility?
Are they expected to (can they?) raise their own troop to patrol their lands and/or to support the local Purple Dragons army? If so, do the Crown/Wizards of War turn a blind eye to them raising a 'just larger than required' force of troops that they might use to extend their borders a bit further out into the wilds to secure a mine / forest / farmland / hunting preserve that enriches themselves and not necessarily the Crown or the local subjects? (assume the family are loyal to the Crown and are not raising an army to challenge the Obarskyrs).
(Brian, if you want to chime in with an answer then please feel free)
Thanks once again
Damian
who is off to update his Eveningstar map and file away the differing local names for the stream to confuse his players later |
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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Asgetrion
Master of Realmslore
Finland
1564 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2009 : 15:21:16
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Many, *MANY* thanks, Ed, once again for your *BRILLIANT*, inspiring replies! 
The level of detail in your juicy piece of Realmslore is simply *AWESOME*, and thank you for the advice -- I think that is *exactly* what I'll do! Especially as I have dropped hints to PCs about a cursed, demon-haunted magical sword originally worn by local commanders and nobles along the years. The blade is now lost but sought after by the Zhentarim (the PCs foiled their first attempt, but soon realized that the Zhentarim were following a "false trail"). It remains to be seen if the PCs or the Zhentarim will eventually locate the blade (which is currently owned and hidden by a mentor of the PCs, who'll eventually be "corrupted" by it to become a major villain in the campaign). Hmmm... it may very well be that this blade was originally crafted by Lord Baerent Tulwood.
Let's throw in the Men of the Basilisk, Iron Throne, Eldreth Veluuthra... yes, intrigue aplenty -- just as I like it! =)
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"What am I doing today? Ask me tomorrow - I can be sure of giving you the right answer then."
-- Askarran of Selgaunt, Master Sage, speaking to a curious merchant, Year of the Helm |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2009 : 15:33:26
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Hello again, all. This time Ed responds to the third of Asgetrion’s Thunderstone-related queries:
“3) Which sort of presence do the Heralds and Harper and Zhentarim agents have in Thunderstone -- i.e. do stay just "stay put" and observe, or have an active presence in the area?”
Ed replies:
There is a local herald, Bannermere, but this is a new office held by a novice, a young, slender, brown-haired man originally from Berdusk, who is polite and rather shy, and derives most of his income by designing and limning signs and writing letters for locals (he is not a Crown herald). He keeps to Thunderstone, and interested clients come to see him; it’s recently come to light (much to his embarrassment) that he secretly writes salacious chapbooks for sale in Scornubel and Waterdeep, including the popular “Rorel the Conquering Blade” series (in which the debonair, swirling-cloaked Rorel beds an endless series of willing women, often after dueling their craven and cruel wife-beating husbands). Interestingly, there’s long been a rumour that the Rorel books were penned by the same anonymous hand that once presented the now-banned chapbook “Filfaeril Bound And Willing” to a receptive Suzail and even more eager Purple Dragon posts up and down the Realm, but a blushing and stammering Bannermere denies ever even dreaming of portraying the Dragon Queen in such a light. (Another rumour whispers that Filfaeril, who has been officially silent on the work, secretly enjoyed it very much and cajoled her royal husband into acting out the events of several of the encounters therein - - but rumour, like a barking dog, oft makes much more noise and arouses more ire than it in truth should.)
There are no publicly-known Zhentarim agents in the area, but “everyone knows” they do pay locals for spying and passing on information, and that there IS a Zhent paymaster somewhere in Thunderstone. It’s almost certainly a shopkeeper, and the local Purple Dragons do keep close watch over one Tunstal Draeger, a seller (but not maker; his wares come from the docks of Marsember) of rope, cord, and wire.
However, the Dragons and even Draeger are unaware that Draeger is a decoy Zhent spy and paymaster, who continues to operate and be paid by a travelling Zhent master (a Selgauntan “manywares” caravan merchant by the name of Drustigo Parltath) despite the fact that the authorities are “on to him,” and the Zhents know this. While the attention is on Draeger, the REAL local Zhent spy, the scent and potion maker and seller Naerilda Jackalane, does the real spying. She’s a bone-thin, long-nosed, rather homely woman who’s a superb mimic and actor - - and VERY careful not to attract attention to herself. She openly makes regular herb-gathering and buying trips (gathering on the banks of the Thunderflow and in the verges of the Hullack Forest, and buying from specific farms), tries to carry on romances with several local Purple Dragons (purportedly because she’s lonely and desperate for a mate and has a “thing” for “men in Crown uniform,” but actually to allay suspicion and to learn what she can of local Dragon gossip), and is known to discreetly visit local households after dark to deliver love-potions and herbal ointments that aid in “love’s arts” (lubricants and stiffeners, to put it less delicately). She has no public skill in healing, but is known to make and sell very effective ointments that effectively deaden all pain (and itching sensations) in a localized body area, and secretly possesses about a dozen magical healing potions for her own use and to aid wounded Zhents who might need them. Her Zhent name is “Thunderblade” or just “Blade,” but Zhents who think they might be overheard while speaking of her are supposed to refer to her instead as “Thunderflow” so that what they say will be mistaken either for the river, or as a SECOND agent.
The Harpers have two safe-houses and lore-moots in Thunderstone, both the homes of retired, aging, limping from old wounds ex-Dragons (who are now covert Harper agents). They do nothing at all to attract attention to themselves, beyond opening their doors after dark when certain signals are given, and taking in guests they hide in their cellars, in secret passages, and in hidden attic areas. An ever-changing succession of younger and more active Harper agents move through the area and do all the fighting, skulking, prowling, and spying (the Harpers in Berdusk regard the Thunderstone area as a good “training-ground,” but also send more experienced Harpers to watch over the novices, both to rescue them if need be and evaluate them).
The two elderly Harpers are the grizzled and laconic (most known for his severe limp and his jutting, oversized, sharp-pointed lower jaw) Pharvukh Bonehondur, once an ornrion in the Dragons who came from Teziir and joined the Dragons as a youth, in a hiring fair in Suzail; and Malaeva Irlingbreak, a sharp-tongued, tall but stooped by her aches, slightly-limping and cane-using woman who has long, untidy white hair, piercing black eyes, and a habit of purring audibly when contented or amused; she was once a constal in the Dragons, at High Horn, and earlier in her career, when holding much lower ranks, served for many years in Arabel.
Both of them are expert at tending wounds and keeping their mouths shut; Bonehondur runs a knife-and-tool sharpening service out of his home, and Malaeva makes carved and ornamented wooden front doors and shutters (and a few small carry-coffers, too).
So saith Ed, who seems to be really building up lore so Asgetrion, Damian, and anyone else who wants to can use this area for a campaign setting. Whee!
(I know Ed expects to have an answer for Asgetrion's fourth question next, then Damian's most recent query. Glancing over Ed's reply, I want to emphasize that the Zhent agents he mentions are NOT the only ones, just the only long-term-resident ones; to avoid being easily exposed, the "do the dirty stuff" Zhent agents, of whom there are probably around six to eight at any one time in the Thunderstone area, "move through" the district and on to elsewhere, being replaced by "the next wave.")
love to all,
THO
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Menelvagor
Senior Scribe
Israel
352 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2009 : 17:57:12
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| Was this “Filfaeril Bound And Willing” ever mentioned before? And how did the Crown and Fee react (publicly and privately, please) to this? Did they even read it? (I can guess at its contents, so no need to ask about that) |
"Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly.
How much less them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation in the dust, are crushed before the moth?" - Eliphaz the Temanite, Job IV, 17-19.
"Yea, though he live a thousand years twice, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?" - Ecclesiastes VI, 6.
"There are no stupid questions – just a bunch of inquisitive idiots."
"Let's not call it 'hijacking'. Let's call it 'Thread Drift'." |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2009 : 18:18:20
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Well, Ed has certainly mentioned it before (verbally, at GenCon seminars). Of course, if he wrote it into a novel or Realms game article, it is JUST the sort of thing that (understandably) would get edited out before the wider reading/gaming public saw it.
BB |
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2009 : 18:20:41
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Dear and Ed and THO,
A quick lore questions. Is gambling (card, dice, etc. games, played by the gamblers, not betting on what the weather will be tomorrow or some other "outside" event) tolerated among the Purple Dragons? Ignored by officers? Encouraged? Or Banned? (Or . . . ?)
Thanks! |
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Malcolm
Learned Scribe
242 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2009 : 18:27:01
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Oops, forgot to post my second question.
Are off-duty Purple Dragons likely to still be in uniform? Or partial uniform? (I don't mean if they stop to buy food or drink on the way home, I mean if they go out carousing most of the night.) Are there rules against wearing your uniform to brotheXXX ahem, festhalls? Or anywhere else?
Thanks! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2009 : 18:28:44
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I seem to remember this coming up in play with Ed as DM, and the answer was: it varies according to the local Purple Dragon commander. I THINK. Off to Ed for a proper reply, of course.
love,
THO |
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader
USA
7106 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2009 : 18:41:21
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| Wow, thanks for all this great Cormyr lore! |
"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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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2009 : 00:21:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Wow, thanks for all this great Cormyr lore!
Indeed!
Thank you to Ed for responding so generously and THO for posting the replies so promptly and 'filling in the gaps' around the edges.
Cheers
Damian
ps "All about Cormyr" thread updated |
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 - 14 Jan 2009 : 03:24:56
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Thank you! But (hah-HA!) we're not done yet!
Yes, hi once more, fellow scribes. This time Ed tackles the fourth of Asgetrion’s Thunderstone-related queries:
“4) Are there any notable castles or keeps in or near Thunderstone?”
Ed replies:
Aside from those already mentioned for the various noble families (including the Summerstars, back in my 2004 reply and in the novel STORMLIGHT that preceded it), no.
There IS “Ravaer’s Stronghold,” an “earthen-ring-wall-surrounded by ditch” defensible redoubt for the use of Purple Dragons trying to repel any invasion in force from the Thunder Peaks, that stands in the open countryside (rolling, unfenced common ranchers’ fields) not far west of the mountain foothills. It’s exactly what its name implies: a grass-covered series of earthworks, with a single entry “lane” or elevated “ride” leading into it from the west, this lane having precipitous ditches on both sides, being just wide enough for a small wagon or two riders abreast, and having a “dogleg” bend in it to make charges difficult and aid defenders. This feature is named for a long-ago Purple Dragon commander who died defending Cormyr from a Sembian-sponsored raiding force there, and is notable for having a single stone-lined subterranean “refuge room” at its heart, a chamber about twenty feet square (“about” because its walls are a series of embrasures or niches ending in sleeping benches) that has three stone caskets (like coffins) at its center that can serve as coffins, or tables, or food and water storage (Purple Dragon patrols keep them stocked with skins of water, raw cabbages, sausages enclosed in clay to keep mold from growing on them, and firewood). The refuge room is reached down a long, narrow ramp from a hole in the ground covered by a single stone slab and sheltered by a three-sided earthwork “cave” that can provide some small shelter for hobbled horses; the cave has several hitching-rings set into its sides.
Perched on the sides of the lowest Thunder Peaks are the crumbling, open-to-the-sky remnants of several ancient “robber baron” castles; simple keeps that are much used by roosting birds (and, from time to time, perytons and even wyverns, though the Purple Dragons call in War Wizards to exterminate such unwanted inhabitants, whenever they’re noticed). These serve more as landmarks (meeting-moots and the sites of occasional smuggling caches) than as shelter; the best-known are Kaliphur’s Keep, Imbral’s Tower, the Wyvernteeth, and Black Heldar’s Roost.
A wealthy but non-noble family from Suzail, the Varvrail family, bought a cluster of a dozen farms about a quarter-day’s ride south-southwest of Thunderstone, and there started construction of a grand fortified stone mansion. However, the clan ran out of money after several investments went bad and their participation in smuggling from Westgate to Suzail was uncovered. (Several members were jailed, and the family now toils as shopkeepers in Suzail, in much reduced circumstances.) The mansion was barely begun, and consists of heaps of earth, a large pit, and the beginnings of a front wall with a row of high arched windows; the surrounding farms and the piles of cut lumber and dressed stone blocks assembled at the site but not yet used in the construction were sold off to pay family debts, leaving just the one unfinished wall, plus its temporary timber supporting buttresses and a scaffold that has long since sagged into a crazily unsafe state. It was to have been called Varvrail Hall, but is locally known as “Folly Hall.”
So saith Ed. Who adds that he left the depths of the the Hullack Forest, the heart of the Thunder Peaks, and the Vast Swamp out of this, as being not part of the "Thunderstone area," but rather its borders. All three contain both human and elven ruins (and of course there are also dwarven, gnomish, and orken ruins in the Thunder Peaks), as it happens, but many of them are tied up in all sorts of NDAs, some even linked to the old SPI (TSR-acquired) Dragonquest game (in other words, the Watching Gods alone know when we'd ever get those sorted out, to say nothing of lifted).
love to all,
THO
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Kyrene
Senior Scribe
South Africa
757 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2009 : 07:43:39
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Ed and/or THO and/or others,
Time for this year's annual question. I thought I'd get it in early in the year...
As a motorcyclist myself, I have lately wondered if anyone in the Realms make use of two-wheeled forms of transport—be they bicycles or some magic/steam/other self-propelled vehicle. I can just picture the “Not the Neverwinter Nine” adventuring party all clad in leather/studded leather armour, pot helmets, boots and gloves taking the “breakfast run” to Leilon—or perhaps Port Llast—and back every tenthday morning. Does such transport exist?
Thanks in advance for your replies. |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2009)
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