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deusex2
Acolyte
7 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Oct 2009 : 14:51:34
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Greetings. I'm searching any info I can get on Anchorome, but the more I find the more confused I become. Some say that Anchorome is a land north of Maztica, others claim that Anchorome is a series of archipelago north east of Maztica...
Not only that, but I don't even know which books hold any practical info on this place.
Either way, I'd appreciate any help I could get on this matter. Thank you very much for your time.
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2009 : 15:13:30
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For the purpose of the published Realms, Anchorome is not really a real place. For the inhabitants of the Realms, Anchorome is a place not unlike Shangri-La or Eldorado, where Balduran (for whom Baldur's Gate is named) discovered. In the published Realm, this "Anchorome" is the land north of the core areas of Maztica. Details of the rediscovery of "Anchorome" is detailed in the entry for the Flaming Fist in FR15 - Gold and Glory, which still happens to be available as a free download here Linkie. In there, Anchorome is said to have been described as a legendary archipelago (but, as said earlier, just turned out to the lands north of those described in the Maztica boxed sets). That's about as much detail as there is about the crazy dream that was Anchorome.
Some of the confusion may arise from the fact that in Ed's personal FR campaign, Anchorome WAS an archipelago, and I am shamelesslu quoting from the FR FAQ, now hosted by Candlekeep itself:
quote:
3.2. What and where is Anchorome?
In Ed Greenwood's original conception, Anchorome was a joke archipelago; each island was a dungeon, and at the bottom of the dungeon were just enough supplies and a map to the next one. With the release of the Maztica mini-setting, Anchorome became the northern end of the new continent. It has not been detailed in any fashion apart from a couple of brief mentions here and there.
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2009 : 15:17:20
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Hi. As one of the players in Ed Greenwood's longtime "home" Realms campaign, I can tell you that Anchorome [sorry, can't do accent marks from where I'm typing this; please just assume that they're there] is the collective name for a string of islands [not a single proper archipelago, but often believed to be] scattered across the deep open sea far to the west of Faerun.
Years ago Ed postulated constructing a Realms campaign around the Anchorome concept, wherein PCs are aboard a ship de-masted in storms and driven helplessly aground on one of the isles of Anchorome. The PCs would then have to explore the island, forage for food, and defend the surviving crew as the sailors cut timbers to replace the masts and repair the leaking ship - - and on the island (back in those dear dawn days of the hobby, Judges Guild published a book of island maps, which Ed suggested using for DMs who lacked the time or talent to draw their own) the PCs would encounter an adventure, perhaps in ancient ruins (use any commercial adventure "module" [as they were called back then] of the DM's choice). When the ship was seaworthy, off it would sail again - - only to encounter the NEXT island (back to the map book) with the next adventure (again, purchased adventure of the DM's choice, storms intervening whenever necessary to force PCs into confrontations they'd rather avoid).
The old mainland Faerunian joke, which came with all the wild sailors' legends of what was on these various uncharted islands, was that Anchorome stood for "Anchor-on-me" . . . and since then, various published Realmslore sources written by various staff designers, licensees, and freelancers, have tried to make Anchorome this continent or that string of islands, but nothing definitive has been nailed down.
Which is why you can't find much lore about it. Sorry.
Ed has plans, but like everything else in the Realms, his lack of time and the ongoing march of the Realms line (including the recent timejump) have a way of preventing some topics ever getting covered . . .
Feel free to ask more questions about this in Ed's thread, if you want Ed's take (and perhaps a LITTLE more lore, if you ask the right pointed questions there) on Anchorome.
love,
THO |
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deusex2
Acolyte
7 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2009 : 15:36:46
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| So, basically, I can use both archipelago and continent? |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 07 Nov 2009 : 21:19:58
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| That's what I'm doing in my Realms; Anchorome refers to the archipelago, which is more or less exactly as THO describes it, and the continent depicted in the small world map in the 3E FRCS has a different name (yet to be devised by me, but something Realmsian yet vaguely Norse-sounding for my purposes). There *will* be more homebrew lore coming from me on this, just as soon as I can get it all written up (but no maps; I'm about as cartographically talented as a squirrel with a piece of charcoal). |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3287 Posts |
Posted - 08 Nov 2009 : 04:03:06
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi. As one of the players in Ed Greenwood's longtime "home" Realms campaign, I can tell you that Anchorome [sorry, can't do accent marks from where I'm typing this; please just assume that they're there] is the collective name for a string of islands [not a single proper archipelago, but often believed to be] scattered across the deep open sea far to the west of Faerun.
Years ago Ed postulated constructing a Realms campaign around the Anchorome concept, wherein PCs are aboard a ship de-masted in storms and driven helplessly aground on one of the isles of Anchorome. The PCs would then have to explore the island, forage for food, and defend the surviving crew as the sailors cut timbers to replace the masts and repair the leaking ship - - and on the island (back in those dear dawn days of the hobby, Judges Guild published a book of island maps, which Ed suggested using for DMs who lacked the time or talent to draw their own) the PCs would encounter an adventure, perhaps in ancient ruins (use any commercial adventure "module" [as they were called back then] of the DM's choice). When the ship was seaworthy, off it would sail again - - only to encounter the NEXT island (back to the map book) with the next adventure (again, purchased adventure of the DM's choice, storms intervening whenever necessary to force PCs into confrontations they'd rather avoid).
The old mainland Faerunian joke, which came with all the wild sailors' legends of what was on these various uncharted islands, was that Anchorome stood for "Anchor-on-me" . . . and since then, various published Realmslore sources written by various staff designers, licensees, and freelancers, have tried to make Anchorome this continent or that string of islands, but nothing definitive has been nailed down.
Which is why you can't find much lore about it. Sorry.
Ed has plans, but like everything else in the Realms, his lack of time and the ongoing march of the Realms line (including the recent timejump) have a way of preventing some topics ever getting covered . . .
Feel free to ask more questions about this in Ed's thread, if you want Ed's take (and perhaps a LITTLE more lore, if you ask the right pointed questions there) on Anchorome.
love,
THO
Thanks THO.
I kept thinking "Isle's of Dread"...
Might be a great place to put the Last Print AP from Dungeon Magazine..."The Savage Tide". |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Jakk
Great Reader
Canada
2165 Posts |
Posted - 15 Nov 2009 : 06:58:49
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| Ooh! I like that idea, Brimstone! In fact, I like it so much that I may steal it... and I should say "them"... both "Isle of Dread" and "Savage Tide" would fit beautifully... |
Playing in the Realms since the Old Grey Box (1987)... and *still* having fun with material published before 2008, despite the NDA'd lore.
If it's comparable in power with non-magical abilities, it's not magic. |
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Errr...Anchorome?
