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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Gelcur, I believe it's over 20 (the number of Nain's resurrections). The character, played by Ken Woods (co-founder and -owner of the increasingly famous Black Oak microbrewery, of Oakville, Ontario), had an unfortunate habit of getting killed in company adventures. A lot.
This "habit" became something of a black humour standing joke amongst Ed's players at the time (before my time). Ed kept detailed written play-by-play logbooks in those days, written out in longhand DURING PLAY. I've seen some of them, and one recurring phrase is ". . . killing Nain. Again."
love,
THO

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Originally posted by Broken Helm

Dear Ed and THO,
Can you tell us any heraldic information about any Cormyrean nobles who might be seen hunting (or riding, for any other reason) in the westernmost reaches of Cormyr, pre-Spellplague (i.e. ending at the mountains, not reaching into Tunland).

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Originally posted by Malcolm

AVATAR was asked about (and answered) at the end of last year's version of this thread.

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For the lower half of the body, both men and women wear clouts: a very tight leather, cloth, or cord (listed here in descending order of perceived quality and durability) belt worn around the hips, and usually held tight by multiple hooks (like a modern bra) at the front. Then a long, diaper-like strip of rectangular cloth (usually cotton) is passed between the legs, up through the front of the belt to dangle down, and up through the back of the belt to dangle down. In other words, the “breechclout” of some native American tribes. In many cases, the dangling front and back ends are designed to be tied together, and the cloth may be folded in on itself for extra absorbency or padding (especially when the wearer expects to be riding a mount). Menstruating women usually place another layer or two of red-hued cloth inside the clout and change this as necessary, and yes, clouts can be purchased that are decorative and ‘made to be seen.’ Freshly-perfumed clouts are often sold in Waterdeep and other large cities.

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Second: menstrual cycles and their treatment. Social and practical. Social: Selune, Chauntea, and many other deities keep “closeness to natural cycles” strong in the minds of all Faerûnians; there’s no religious or societal stigma about menstruation. Women aren’t regarded as “unclean” at any time, menses are no bar to sexual activity, and any embarrassment is purely of the “Oh, now I’ve stained a nice [or borrowed] garment” variety. Menstruation is never called “the curse” or anything of the sort in the Realms; in Faerûn, it’s “lifeblood” or “moonblood” or even “Selune’s kiss” or “under the moon” (as in: “I’m under the moon just now, so pack extra redcloths”).
Time for the practical. Please see my reply on page 21 of my 2004 replies, here at Candlekeep, for information about undergarments (specifically clouts and redcloths).
Blood-stained “redcloths” will be washed or at least rinsed out daily, often in scented water. To avoid being tracked by beasts following scent, wilderland-travelling women often discard (by burying them) redcloths as they go; if they can find dew or any sort of water in which to wash the cloths (including stagnant swampwater), they’ll do so, often dousing the cloth with perfume beforehand to minimize any odours the water causes. The most popular “travelling wash” for redcloths (practiced, for example, by women stopping at a rustic inn) is cheap wine followed by rinsing with rainbarrel water. Please bear in mind that there’s no embarrassment or stigma attached to this, even for young females experiencing their first menses; no one will be trying to do this “on the sly,” and inns high and low will anticipate this need and have facilities for it (that’s why there are ewers of water sitting in washbasins in most inn rooms, AND spare washbasins underneath beds, alongside the chamberpots). Most inns and taverns do a busy daily trade in buying new redcloths and disposing of old ones (they become scrubbing rags).

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Originally posted by sfdragon

but I'd wager that you might not see an answer there....

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Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all.
Aysen, from my understanding (based on many chats with Ed, though several years ago, now), your supposition about Roldo is entirely correct.
However, all that is left in the published novel, thanks to the drastic shortening it had to undergo, are the hints you've mentioned.
I believe Elaine did most of the initial "drawing the characters" of the nobles as part of her lead role of plotting the novel, so Roldo and his "marriage of convenience" is probably her idea.
On the other hand, Roldo and ANOTHER, now entirely missing from the book due to the shortening, young noble MAY have been "telescoped" together in the editing, and this now-vanished noble may have originally been the "openly gay" character.
I'm not sure how overt any homosexuality would have been, in the unshortened mammoth first draft, because TSR/Wizards Realms books have tended to follow the "sexual matters if germane to the plot, absent if not" approach. I'm sure there would have been scenes that made the personal feelings of any gay character(s) clear, but I doubt they would have been "sex scenes" as North America generally uses that term....

We should also bear in mind that "suggesting but not confirming" is a technique that Ed, Elaine, and many other writers like to use in storytelling, for some things but not others. This may have ended up being the way this was handled, even if it wasn't initially intended to be this veiled. Having to cut more than a third of a book means a LOT of stuff had to go.
love,
THO

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Originally posted by Aysen

Based on certain phrases and interactions with characters in a few chapters of the book, are Roldo Thongolir and/or his wife Sarintha Thann bisexual/gay/asexual? Theirs is an arranged marriage, hastily assembled in the wake of him becoming family heir after the Deepwater War, and under pressure to be a financial (if not filial) success. For these types of marriages mutual attraction is not a requirement, and Roldo admits theirs is not one of passion.

When Roldo and Korvaun Helmfast discuss the marriage and honeymoon, Korvaun offers the delicate observation that the marriage will work out, "as they find enjoyment in mutual interests."

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In a scene between Roldo and Asper, Roldo declines the ownership of a slipshield, fearing that the device's shapechanging ability would sorely tempt one who is used to living behind a mask, and pretending to be someone else. Ed, in that scene is Roldo speaking generally or specifically about himself, and if so, does that refer to his sexual preference, or to the fact he is striving to mask the unexpected burden of being the Thongolir heir behind the "noble wastrel facade"?

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Originally posted by Nicolai Withander

Hello Ed and THO...

I was just wondering, and this question may very much have been asked a milion times before, but im gonna ask it anyways.

The characters like Elminster, Volo, the chosen and so forth are thise character from gaming sessions from whece this game started, or are this just made up for novels and game material.

And if these NPCs was once PL whome did Ed and THO play?

Thx for any answer!

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1) Storm was the first of the Seven I created. An image of her harping by a fireside on the verges of the High Forest on a winter evening, with snow softly falling, but her harp music fueling a spell that kept snow and cold at bay JUST around the fire, for the exhausted, wounded Harpers sleeping around her.
Along comes a band of brigands, who feather her with arrows from afar. In agony, she uses her blood to work a magic that heals her, but her pain sends echoes (through the Weave, though I hadn't named it then; Julia Martin came up with that name, years later), The Simbul feels them, and - - wham! - - teleports in to take panther form and gleefully slash and savage the brigands apart.
That was my first glimpse of the Seven Sisters. I knew there were more, because almost immediately another scene came to mind: a Zhent triumphantly (and mistakenly) reporting to his superior that he'd slain one of the Seven. Said superior reacting in disgust: "you idiot. They'll be after us now. Even if you somehow killed them all, there are more. There are ALWAYS more."
It was a year before Laeral, Alustriel, and Dove got their names, and walked into stories. This'd be 1967-ish.

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Wooly Rupert, Elminster and the Seven Sisters were ALWAYS Chosen of Mystra as they came into personal focus (in other words, by about 1972 I knew what a Chosen of Mystra was, some of the identities of the Chosen, and a lot about Mystra herself; I hadn’t figured out who the Seventh Sister was, and in fact left that for Steven Schend to deal with, much later, but before there ever was a D&D game, I knew that a select circle of powerful folk, many of the ladies being sisters who had silver hair and were ‘almost’ daughters to Mystra, were ‘special’ servants of hers, called the Chosen).

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

As for THO's character(s), that is known only to her, Ed, and the other members of their gaming group. It's a question that's been asked more than once, but it's one that the lovely Lady Hooded One has to decline answering.

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