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Originally posted by sfdragon

Can you share tips and advice on writing stories ???

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Originally posted by Markustay

Back from the abyss again, this time to chime-in on a rather sore subject for me.

First, Abeir-Toril is NOT Earth. <snip>

That being said, SECOND: Our laws, values, mores, and religous 'sins' have NO BEARING on the Realms what-so-ever. What may be considered a sin by one of Faerūn's MANY sects may be considered acceptable and perhaps even preferred by another.

THIRD: The Realms are set during a medieval period - some cultures are 'Ancient' by our standards, where others are border-line Renaissance. In any event, it was considered acceptable back then for relatives to marry, most especially among the nobility and royalty. Just how many 'princes' do you really think are hanging around for some princess to date? When you are forced to have 'relations' within a certain class-structure, the higher-up one goes, the less choices become available. Also, women were considered PAST breeding long before they hit 30, so marrying girls of 12 or 13 (or younger!) was common place. Once again, our modern values should not be applied, nor should these things shock anyone - its history.

So, given that all these 'taboo' things occurred on our real world (and still do in many places), and given the more educated (read:civilized) level of folks in the Realms (compared to our own Medieval period), and also given that FR never had a Catholic church with its crusades and Inquisitions and witch-hunts, the level of sexuality and nearly complete lack of hang-ups about such things in Ed's world makes PERFECT SENSE.

I wish folks would STOP thinking in terms of 'right' and 'wrong' in the Realms - it isn't Earth... thank God(s) for that.

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Originally posted by Jakk
Does anything canon (and not NDA) exist regarding the location of the Sea of Corynactis? Or is this another of Steven Schend's "loose ends"?

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Originally posted by Hoondatha

sfdragon: I was actually lucky enough to attend a convention (Ucon, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) with Ed as the featured speaker and sat in on a seminar he gave on "Bringing Fantasy Worlds to Life" both as a writer and a DM. It was great, both illuminating and really, really funny. I recorded it, and listen to it every now and then when I need something uplifting, because, let's face it, Ed's just that great a storyteller. I'd be happy to share it, if Ed gives his blessing (I figure he'd be the one who had copyright), but it's a 28 mb file, so not possible to be emailed. Perhaps Candlekeep could host it?

Also, iirc, the very first answer Ed gave in this scroll, back in 2004, was about a similar topic. You might want to take a look at the very first Page 1 and see if that helps.

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Originally posted by Merrith

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Originally posted by Jakk
Does anything canon (and not NDA) exist regarding the location of the Sea of Corynactis? Or is this another of Steven Schend's "loose ends"?

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I'm not positive on this but I seem to remember a blip about it's location in Grand History of the Realms. The year marks that accompany most of the major events to let you easily move forward and back are absent from each of the Shalarin Passings if I recall correctly. I believe it was stated/theorized in one of the notes that the Sea of Corynactis was on the far side of one of the other continents, maybe Maztica.

Again this is purely from memory I loaned my copy to a friend who wanted to read it recently and maybe I'm thinking of something else but someone could check it.

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–1509 DR
The First Shalarin Passing: The obyrith lord Dagon, eldest of Those Who Sleep Below, sets in motion his plan to control the depths of Serōs. The first wildtide portal opens, and the shalarins arrive within Serōs from the Sea of Corynactis, their home on the far side of Toril, west of Maztica. Immediately attacked by the magically attuned Emerald Eye [–1524, –1506] and the madmen Kyron and Essyl, the shalarins lose more than 17 percent of their number. Tivaan, the Dukar orders, and Humbar all rush to the aid of the shalarins and quickly gain powerful allies.

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

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Originally posted by Merrith

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Originally posted by Jakk
Does anything canon (and not NDA) exist regarding the location of the Sea of Corynactis? Or is this another of Steven Schend's "loose ends"?

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I'm not positive on this but I seem to remember a blip about it's location in Grand History of the Realms. The year marks that accompany most of the major events to let you easily move forward and back are absent from each of the Shalarin Passings if I recall correctly. I believe it was stated/theorized in one of the notes that the Sea of Corynactis was on the far side of one of the other continents, maybe Maztica.

Again this is purely from memory I loaned my copy to a friend who wanted to read it recently and maybe I'm thinking of something else but someone could check it.

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You are correct. Page 36 of the printed Grand History of the Realms:

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–1509 DR
The First Shalarin Passing: The obyrith lord Dagon, eldest of Those Who Sleep Below, sets in motion his plan to control the depths of Serōs. The first wildtide portal opens, and the shalarins arrive within Serōs from the Sea of Corynactis, their home on the far side of Toril, west of Maztica. Immediately attacked by the magically attuned Emerald Eye [–1524, –1506] and the madmen Kyron and Essyl, the shalarins lose more than 17 percent of their number. Tivaan, the Dukar orders, and Humbar all rush to the aid of the shalarins and quickly gain powerful allies.

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Originally posted by Zandilar

Heya,

I was talking to an old friend of mine yesterday, and he told me that he'd met Ed at a convention in Melbourne a (long) while ago, and played in a game he DMed there. My friend had this box of cards (I believe TSR released some box set of cards related to DnD, something other than Spellfire or whatever the TCG was called - sorry for being vague on this, but I can just barely remember it myself and searching online hasn't yielded any helpful clues), of which he had Ed sign the Elminster card.

He tells me that at some point between then and now, they became misplaced. He thinks a certain someone in his life at the time (he didn't mention any names, but reading between the lines, I think it was his ex) took the box and a bunch of his comics and sold them without telling him about it. (And knowing what I know about his ex, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she did it deliberately to spite him.)

Is there anything we can do to replace this card for him?

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

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Originally posted by Zandilar

Heya,

I was talking to an old friend of mine yesterday, and he told me that he'd met Ed at a convention in Melbourne a (long) while ago, and played in a game he DMed there. My friend had this box of cards (I believe TSR released some box set of cards related to DnD, something other than Spellfire or whatever the TCG was called - sorry for being vague on this, but I can just barely remember it myself and searching online hasn't yielded any helpful clues), of which he had Ed sign the Elminster card.

He tells me that at some point between then and now, they became misplaced. He thinks a certain someone in his life at the time (he didn't mention any names, but reading between the lines, I think it was his ex) took the box and a bunch of his comics and sold them without telling him about it. (And knowing what I know about his ex, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she did it deliberately to spite him.)

Is there anything we can do to replace this card for him?

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TSR did like three or four runs of trading cards in the early nineties. They were sold in packs, and also as a complete set. The Elminster card was in the first run. As I recall, the artwork was the cover of the Shadowdale book from the 2E FRCS.

There's at least three auctions for the first 750 card set on eBay right now, ranging from $10 to $30.

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Originally posted by Markustay

I may just be old-age, but I remember this being brought-up recently, and it was stated (somewhere) that the Sea of Corynactis is possibly on Abeir.

Of course, Mr. Schend did not have that in mind - ti was a 'loose end', but one that works rather well in the new scheme of things.

I'm nearly 100% positive it wasn't Ed who made the off-hand comment - he is the last person to set anything in stone in a 4e world (except in an official artical, where he is being paid to do so). IIRC, it was either Brian or Steven - more likely Brian - but it really could have been anyone, my memory being what it is these days. Maybe even George in regards to the GHotR.

But I am sure someone did suggest it, though; I remember that I rather liked the way that worked out.

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Originally posted by The Sage

I'd haunt some of the more popular trading card auction sites as well... like those for the old 90's X-Men series. I often see a few of the old TSR cards coming up for offer and, sometimes, at respectable asking prices too.

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

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Originally posted by The Sage

I'd haunt some of the more popular trading card auction sites as well... like those for the old 90's X-Men series. I often see a few of the old TSR cards coming up for offer and, sometimes, at respectable asking prices too.

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I had all of the X-Men cards, too...

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Originally posted by Zireael

Was the Alashar Crywinds question adressed to the correct sage of Candlekeep?

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Originally posted by Jakk

I really like that idea... <snip>

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Originally posted by The Hooded One
Zandilar, I'm not sure just which Elminster card signed (there was a Promo Card for the original DRAGON cards, there were some specials, there were at least two Spellfire-game cards, and so on. I know Ed doesn't have copies of most of them. But I DO know that if a card reaches Ed by mail, he happily signs and returns it, without charging a fee or expecting anyone to pay for the return postage (a return ADDRESS is always nice ). So by all means . . . and if it doesn't turn up, just get me an address by PM or e-mail, and Ed will send something (e.g. a chapbook copy of his first Realms tale, which are the original, primitive Ed photocopy-and-staple affairs).

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