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Brace Cormaeril
Learned Scribe

294 Posts

Posted - 13 Aug 2010 :  16:26:44  Show Profile  Visit Brace Cormaeril's Homepage Send Brace Cormaeril a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ah, subtlety in the Realms:
Six foot tall, silver-haired women, naked save for thigh-high leather boots, blasting beholders in flying temples with 'silver fire' coming out of their hands, while off to rescue some chick who shoots 'spellfire' out of *her* hands at 'dragon-liches'...
Oooo, the Intrigue!

The Silver Fire's Blade: A Novella in Nine Parts, Available Soon, in the Adventuring Forum!
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Tyrant
Senior Scribe

USA
586 Posts

Posted - 13 Aug 2010 :  18:26:59  Show Profile  Visit Tyrant's Homepage Send Tyrant a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens

As the Realms was intended to be a Rpg setting you might as well then call the novels fanfiction based on the setting. The Realms were created to change and evolve by gaming and by gaming products. Changed much by the users themselves. The novels tie in and people may enjoy them without gaming (which Dennis does and I have no problem with, but a Realms discussions usually includes (unless stated) both the novel and gaming aspect), but it is not a situation where the novels are the "true" Realms and everything else is a personal little diversion on the side with less value. Many of the novels were takes on what was suggested through rpg products and in many cases took up threads that introduced years before, with the author in question giving his view of how it could work. Does this lessen the value of the novel author? Absolutely not, but it is also a fact that a hell of a lot of people has been doing the same "Realmswork" for years.


Let me be clear, I am not trying to say that what happens in your Realms has less value. What I am trying to say is that to anyone not involved in your Realms it may be completely irrelivant because it's in your Realms. What dennis is trying to say and I was trying to clarify is that there is an official version. You can argue that point but I believe you would be wrong. Now, what you do with that is your own business and I see no issue with people doing what they will with it (as you said, that was the intent). However, if someone is talking about anything official, that should pretty clearly not mean anything in a homebrew scenario. I seriously don't see where the major disconnect is here. There's the novels/RPG material, and there's what happens in your home game. The two aren't the same and discussion of one when it's clear the person only has interest in the other is pointless (especially when it's to argue a point that you won't convince him to change his mind on).

It's like Star Wars. There are levels of canon in Star Wars. There's the movies only (G level), the movies plus the EU (forgot the name of the level), and then there's everything else. Most discussions are of the first two with the third being basically fanfiction. Here we have folks trying to say the fanfiction is on the same level as the printed material, and there's no way it is. If it is, most discussion is pointless because anyone can have anything going on and there is no real common binding element (because it could all be changed). It becomes an unending series of "well, in My campaign we do this" and " well in my campaign we don't do that because that country is a crater and that race is the exact opposite of yours" etc, etc. It's fine to show off creativity and have those discussions and I'm sure some of them are interesting (I do find alternate uses of the material interesting, to be clear), but at that point you have strayed very far from the material and are not anywhere near the official level. So, when someone says they are only interested in one level and explain prettty clearly what they mean, it's pointless to go on and on with post after post telling him something else (that he already aknowledges exists) is out there and that it could be different.

Also, to be clear on something, when I say the RPG can be many things I am saying that what you do with it can be many things. I lump the printed material for the RPG in with the novels as far as "official" sources.

And to be clear on another point so no one gets the wrong impression, I am not trying to belittle anyone who changes things for their home game or the changes themselves. It's your game. I'm just trying to say that it's pointless trying to say what happens at home, in your game, has any impact on the official version or is of the same level of importance. If I played, I'm sure I would make changes. When I read fiction I wonder how things would be if certain elements were different and carry those thoughts out quite a ways sometimes. What I don't do is try to say that what I think up is of equal importance to the printed material to anyone but me (that's the important part). I understand it is important to you, but I am not you so there's not much point in bringing it up to rebut a truthful statement. So, if I am misunderstanding the intent here, someone please tell me so.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code

Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36793 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  00:07:01  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril

Ah, subtlety in the Realms:
Six foot tall, silver-haired women, naked save for thigh-high leather boots, blasting beholders in flying temples with 'silver fire' coming out of their hands, while off to rescue some chick who shoots 'spellfire' out of *her* hands at 'dragon-liches'...
Oooo, the Intrigue!



Yeah, that's the entirely of what's happened in the Realms, there.

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!
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Brace Cormaeril
Learned Scribe

294 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  00:37:11  Show Profile  Visit Brace Cormaeril's Homepage Send Brace Cormaeril a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril

Ah, subtlety in the Realms:
Six foot tall, silver-haired women, naked save for thigh-high leather boots, blasting beholders in flying temples with 'silver fire' coming out of their hands, while off to rescue some chick who shoots 'spellfire' out of *her* hands at 'dragon-liches'...
Oooo, the Intrigue!



Yeah, that's the entirely of what's happened in the Realms, there.



Exactly, right? Flash and bang tricks like Spellfire are for kids! Emerging writers in the Realms need to get a grip, and recognize that their work is of no value until they've published under the Realms label for 30 years.

Silly poseurs.

The Silver Fire's Blade: A Novella in Nine Parts, Available Soon, in the Adventuring Forum!
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31716 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  01:12:45  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Okay fellow scribes, we've all been working well together lately. Let's try to maintain that trend, eh?

Candlekeep Forums Moderator

Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com
-- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)

"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood

Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage

Edited by - The Sage on 14 Aug 2010 01:13:56
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Dennis
Great Reader

9933 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  02:41:27  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Tyrant

quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens

As the Realms was intended to be a Rpg setting you might as well then call the novels fanfiction based on the setting. The Realms were created to change and evolve by gaming and by gaming products. Changed much by the users themselves. The novels tie in and people may enjoy them without gaming (which Dennis does and I have no problem with, but a Realms discussions usually includes (unless stated) both the novel and gaming aspect), but it is not a situation where the novels are the "true" Realms and everything else is a personal little diversion on the side with less value. Many of the novels were takes on what was suggested through rpg products and in many cases took up threads that introduced years before, with the author in question giving his view of how it could work. Does this lessen the value of the novel author? Absolutely not, but it is also a fact that a hell of a lot of people has been doing the same "Realmswork" for years.


Let me be clear, I am not trying to say that what happens in your Realms has less value. What I am trying to say is that to anyone not involved in your Realms it may be completely irrelivant because it's in your Realms. What dennis is trying to say and I was trying to clarify is that there is an official version. You can argue that point but I believe you would be wrong. Now, what you do with that is your own business and I see no issue with people doing what they will with it (as you said, that was the intent). However, if someone is talking about anything official, that should pretty clearly not mean anything in a homebrew scenario. I seriously don't see where the major disconnect is here. There's the novels/RPG material, and there's what happens in your home game. The two aren't the same and discussion of one when it's clear the person only has interest in the other is pointless (especially when it's to argue a point that you won't convince him to change his mind on).

It's like Star Wars. There are levels of canon in Star Wars. There's the movies only (G level), the movies plus the EU (forgot the name of the level), and then there's everything else. Most discussions are of the first two with the third being basically fanfiction. Here we have folks trying to say the fanfiction is on the same level as the printed material, and there's no way it is. If it is, most discussion is pointless because anyone can have anything going on and there is no real common binding element (because it could all be changed). It becomes an unending series of "well, in My campaign we do this" and " well in my campaign we don't do that because that country is a crater and that race is the exact opposite of yours" etc, etc. It's fine to show off creativity and have those discussions and I'm sure some of them are interesting (I do find alternate uses of the material interesting, to be clear), but at that point you have strayed very far from the material and are not anywhere near the official level. So, when someone says they are only interested in one level and explain prettty clearly what they mean, it's pointless to go on and on with post after post telling him something else (that he already aknowledges exists) is out there and that it could be different.

Also, to be clear on something, when I say the RPG can be many things I am saying that what you do with it can be many things. I lump the printed material for the RPG in with the novels as far as "official" sources.



Aptly and succinctly put, Tyrant.

@Jorkens. Let me add something to what Tyrant mentioned. I am not belittling those who play the games (I for one used to play games that have book-counterparts, thought not D&D). But consider this: what for will be the so-called FR lore, what the WotC team and most specially Ed created if everything will boil down to one thing: possibilities created by your home-brewed Forgotten Realms? If anything that Ed says can be countered by someone because that someone does not do it in his/her own Realms, then what for is Ed's role?

Every beginning has an end.
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Dennis
Great Reader

9933 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  03:04:30  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril

quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril

Ah, subtlety in the Realms:
Six foot tall, silver-haired women, naked save for thigh-high leather boots, blasting beholders in flying temples with 'silver fire' coming out of their hands, while off to rescue some chick who shoots 'spellfire' out of *her* hands at 'dragon-liches'...
Oooo, the Intrigue!



Yeah, that's the entirely of what's happened in the Realms, there.



Exactly, right? Flash and bang tricks like Spellfire are for kids! Emerging writers in the Realms need to get a grip, and recognize that their work is of no value until they've published under the Realms label for 30 years.

Silly poseurs.



You're saying that the new Realms has become nothing but "flash and bang tricks," intended not for adults but for kids? Well, I have to be blunt: you haven't read quite enough FR books to view the Realms that way. And to be further blunt, I ask you: how many 4E novels have you read? Point out to me/us that those books are merely accounts of "flash and bang tricks." Maybe you have read The Haunted Lands trilogy, the entire (or at least one or two of the) Ed presents Waterdeep series, Blackstaff, The Twilight War trilogy, the Erevis Cale trilogy, and The Captive Flame. While there are inevitable "flashes" featured in more than a chapter (which just makes sense since some of the characters involved are high level wizards), they offer more than those. I understand you don't like some aspects of the current Realms, as do I (for one, I fervently wish there'd be another specialized SP or Elves' Plague that will wipe them out from the face of Toril), but to reduce the realms to something so trivial is (for lack of better euphemism) hardly appropriate.


Every beginning has an end.

Edited by - Dennis on 14 Aug 2010 03:11:35
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31716 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  03:07:07  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Tyrant

It's like Star Wars. There are levels of canon in Star Wars. There's the movies only (G level), the movies plus the EU (forgot the name of the level), and then there's everything else. Most discussions are of the first two with the third being basically fanfiction.
It's actually a somewhat more elaborate system. Lelands Chee of Lucas Licensing broke SW canon down into four levels which determine a given source's place in the canon hierarchy when apparent contradictions occur.

G-Level covers the films, scripts, and anything else which GL himself wrote or created. This trumps all when there is a direct, irreconcilable contradiction.

C-Level is the EU. The books, comics, RPG, CCG, computer games, sourcebooks, et all. Thus, we see that anything C-Level is considered true unless there is a direct irreconcilable contradiction with G-Level canon.

S-Level canon covers older sources like the old Marvel comics and other obscure SW lore which while not contradicting higher level sources, doesn’t quite fit perfectly either.

N-Level is non-canon or Infinities. These are things that are completely outside of continuity or are direct irreconcilable contradictions.

If a piece of information, character [ship, alien, etc], or event appears, or is referenced in a higher level source, it moves up to that new level. If an S-Level character is referenced in a C-Level source, it becomes C-Level, if a character from a C-Level source appears in a G-Level source [such as Aayla Secura appearing in AotC and RotS] that character becomes G-Level. If something is directly and irreconcilably contradicted by a higher level source, that factoid and only that factoid is bumped down to N-Level, but not the whole body of work. So, for example the mention of Owen Lars being Obi-Wan’s brother in the RotJ novelisation is now non-canon because AotC tells us that Owen Lars is Anakin’s stepbrother, and no relation to Obi-Wan, but the rest of novelisation remains C-Level canon.

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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Tyrant
Senior Scribe

USA
586 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  03:32:01  Show Profile  Visit Tyrant's Homepage Send Tyrant a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage

quote:
Originally posted by Tyrant

It's like Star Wars. There are levels of canon in Star Wars. There's the movies only (G level), the movies plus the EU (forgot the name of the level), and then there's everything else. Most discussions are of the first two with the third being basically fanfiction.
It's actually a somewhat more elaborate system. Lelands Chee of Lucas Licensing broke SW canon down into four levels which determine a given source's place in the canon hierarchy when apparent contradictions occur.

G-Level covers the films, scripts, and anything else which GL himself wrote or created. This trumps all when there is a direct, irreconcilable contradiction.

C-Level is the EU. The books, comics, RPG, CCG, computer games, sourcebooks, et all. Thus, we see that anything C-Level is considered true unless there is a direct irreconcilable contradiction with G-Level canon.

S-Level canon covers older sources like the old Marvel comics and other obscure SW lore which while not contradicting higher level sources, doesn’t quite fit perfectly either.

N-Level is non-canon or Infinities. These are things that are completely outside of continuity or are direct irreconcilable contradictions.

If a piece of information, character [ship, alien, etc], or event appears, or is referenced in a higher level source, it moves up to that new level. If an S-Level character is referenced in a C-Level source, it becomes C-Level, if a character from a C-Level source appears in a G-Level source [such as Aayla Secura appearing in AotC and RotS] that character becomes G-Level. If something is directly and irreconcilably contradicted by a higher level source, that factoid and only that factoid is bumped down to N-Level, but not the whole body of work. So, for example the mention of Owen Lars being Obi-Wan’s brother in the RotJ novelisation is now non-canon because AotC tells us that Owen Lars is Anakin’s stepbrother, and no relation to Obi-Wan, but the rest of novelisation remains C-Level canon.


I was trying to be simplistic in my example so as not to hugely sidetrack. I was aware that there were more levels than I mentioned and rules governing what goes where but I didn't see the point in detailing the entire system to get my point across that other systems have levels of canon and that SW has a system that can be compared (to it's general design, not necessarily the designations of what goes in what level).

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code

Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31716 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  03:35:30  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
My bad. I tend to ramble way too much for my own good, sometimes.

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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Dennis
Great Reader

9933 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  03:40:17  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage

My bad. I tend to ramble way too much for my own good, sometimes.



That's alright, Sage. You know TOO MUCH about TOO MANY THINGS that sometimes loads of idea pour out easily as if they have a life of their own. That's not a bad thing, usually. I myself fall victim to such habit sometimes.

Every beginning has an end.

Edited by - Dennis on 17 Aug 2010 10:27:05
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Tyrant
Senior Scribe

USA
586 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  03:42:34  Show Profile  Visit Tyrant's Homepage Send Tyrant a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage

My bad. I tend to ramble way too much for my own good, sometimes.


No worries, I can launch into a ramble myself sometimes. You are right in that I did lump everything below C canon together and label it more or less fanfiction. I was trying to be quick but that was inaccurate on my part. And to be honest, I don't care enough about anything below the C level to memorize what goes where and I treat it like fanfiction anyway. On the other hand, I treat C level the same as G level unless there is a direct conflict between the two (and I honestly haven't found very many, mainly things written about the Clone Wars before the prequels came out) because I do enjoy the books and video games so I try to tell myself the story works throughout.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.
-The Sith Code

Teenage Sith zombies, Tulkh thought-how in the moons of Bogden had it all started? Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose. -Star Wars: Red Harvest
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The Red Walker
Great Reader

USA
3566 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  03:53:45  Show Profile Send The Red Walker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage

My bad. I tend to ramble way too much for my own good, sometimes.



No worriesnold friend, I read something along the lines of...

Star wars......george Lucas...

Bla bla bla...films.....comics bla bla bla

So it didn't sidetrackmme in the least!

A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka

"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -

John F. Kennedy, speech in Dublin, Ireland, June 28, 1963
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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  08:33:51  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by dennis


@Jorkens. Let me add something to what Tyrant mentioned. I am not belittling those who play the games (I for one used to play games that have book-counterparts, thought not D&D). But consider this: what for will be the so-called FR lore, what the WotC team and most specially Ed created if everything will boil down to one thing: possibilities created by your home-brewed Forgotten Realms? If anything that Ed says can be countered by someone because that someone does not do it in his/her own Realms, then what for is Ed's role?




Eds role has always been to give hints and minor lore that one can develop and adjust to ones own view. That is the point of having a unreliable "in-story" voice like Elminster in the first place, both in literature and in rpg's. It opens for the possibility of the information not being correct.

And I know you don't mean it as a belittlement, so no problem there. My point is simply this; the Realms is not a a series of novels that has a rpg made to it it is the other way around.Which makes both the rpg products and the novels equal. With that I mean that something that is mentioned as a possibility in a rpg product is as much canon as something that is spelled out in the novels.

My main objection is to the view that speculations are fanfic, the speculations were the point of the Realms in the first place and the rpg material (with the ideas made for adoptions and speculations) has for most of the Realms publishing history been the first version. As I said, that is not meant as a belittlement of the novels, its just a point about them not being the beginning and end of everything canon.

I have no problem with people just reading novels or just playing without the novels, but to dismiss any speculations as irrelevant (in general, not for one self) fanfic that should be left out of a speculation goes against the whole point of the Realms.
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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2010 :  08:39:52  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Tyrant

I was trying to be simplistic in my example so as not to hugely sidetrack. I was aware that there were more levels than I mentioned and rules governing what goes where but I didn't see the point in detailing the entire system to get my point across that other systems have levels of canon and that SW has a system that can be compared (to it's general design, not necessarily the designations of what goes in what level).



My point is simply this. With the Realms the "what ifs" and open possibilities are as much part of the first level (or G-level if I understand correctly) as any fact that has been clearly detailed in a novel. That comes from the Realms having been a tool for rpg's since first published. The speculations themselves does not become canon, but the point of having openness in canon is to speculate on ones own. That's not the same as fanfic.


And I think we both know what the other one really means and neither one of us has a problem with it, so there is no reason for us to nitpick on minor details( which I will admit is a weakness of mine).The Realms are different for different people and having strong feelings about the same is in my view a positive thing.

Edited by - Jorkens on 14 Aug 2010 08:47:28
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Dennis
Great Reader

9933 Posts

Posted - 15 Aug 2010 :  06:16:23  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens

quote:
Originally posted by dennis


@Jorkens. Let me add something to what Tyrant mentioned. I am not belittling those who play the games (I for one used to play games that have book-counterparts, thought not D&D). But consider this: what for will be the so-called FR lore, what the WotC team and most specially Ed created if everything will boil down to one thing: possibilities created by your home-brewed Forgotten Realms? If anything that Ed says can be countered by someone because that someone does not do it in his/her own Realms, then what for is Ed's role?




Eds role has always been to give hints and minor lore that one can develop and adjust to ones own view. That is the point of having a unreliable "in-story" voice like Elminster in the first place, both in literature and in rpg's. It opens for the possibility of the information not being correct.




I hardly call them mere hints and minor. While Ed presents idea from which one can speculate and build possibilities, he does more than that. What Ed (ultimately) does (or is tasked to do) is to establish "what is" in the Realms, as opposed to "what could be." Because if all he writes are mere possibilities that can easily be thrown and contradicted by personal preferences of the gamers, then you might as well call him a FAN, rather than THE creator of the Realms.


Every beginning has an end.

Edited by - Dennis on 15 Aug 2010 06:24:22
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Jorkens
Great Reader

Norway
2950 Posts

Posted - 15 Aug 2010 :  08:18:20  Show Profile Send Jorkens a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You know, it seems like you are looking for an idiotic argument, so I will stay away.
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire

USA
15724 Posts

Posted - 15 Aug 2010 :  12:26:14  Show Profile Send Markustay a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed's method of presenting most lore was in the format of 'unreliable narrator', so that folks can tweak the hell out of their games without violating canon.

The 'modern' method of presenting lore - since 3e - is more restrictive to the DM and not nearly as useful for running a campaign, when one is trying to keep their FR as close to possible as the canon one.

Yes, Ed does describe certain things to us down to the tiniest detail, buuuut... he leaves the motives and end-results up to the individual DM in almost every case (except in novels, where he normally would have to cover such points). In 1e/2e sources, in many cases, we aren't even sure exactly who certain folks are really working for!

So yeah, we know that Peltarm Rivenspells, currently residing in Sultim, has a handlebar moustache, is balding, has a wart on his left shoulder, has an annoying twitch and a paunch, and has an unsavory appetite both for necromantic magics and young maidens.

But who he works for and what his ultimate goals are are left-out, and he may not even be from Sembia, and he may not even really be who we think he is - it could just be a cover for a Harper or Zhent agent.

This is always the best approach to present lore in an RPG setting. The character and description are setting-canon, but what we do with him is up to us.

"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone


Edited by - Markustay on 15 Aug 2010 12:26:46
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The Red Walker
Great Reader

USA
3566 Posts

Posted - 15 Aug 2010 :  12:39:18  Show Profile Send The Red Walker a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed is the creator of the realms as well as it's biggest fan. The two things are not mutually exclusive and he is both at once.

I've oft heard how Ed delights in seeing what others(by which I mean your average , everyday gamer as well as other writers) are doing with the realms, how they are making a part of it their own. Because it is a loving, changing, fluid thing and not a rigid set of rules. I thinkmthat where most issues for people may stem. Since it became a gaming world, there I'd a need for such structure and rules, but the inherent freedom, flexibility and live Ed created it with almost refuses to be chained and therefore strains pulls at certain rules , busti g out in places , while certain parts play nice with rules and such.

A little nonsense now and then, relished by the wisest men - Willy Wonka

"We need men who can dream of things that never were." -

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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
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Posted - 15 Aug 2010 :  14:46:38  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
...And I think we've wandered from the main topic, now...

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creyzi4zb12
Learned Scribe

Philippines
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Posted - 15 Aug 2010 :  17:03:41  Show Profile  Visit creyzi4zb12's Homepage Send creyzi4zb12 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I didn't know there was a book four on the Netheril Trilogy?

EDIT: Oh, haha, it hasn't been done yet....As to the others having a problem about Sunbright being the main limelight in the story, take note that the Netheril Trilogy not only talks about the legend of Netheril but also other communities in the Realms. The Blood Ravens for example.
As for me: The best book in the trilogy was the first one. The pace of the book was a bit fast, but there was just so much good substance in every chapter that made you admire the realms more and more (as a newbie in the Realms setting(Just to let you know Netheril Trilogy wasn't my first book, it was the Crystal Shard))...it was like a grand tour of the major entities in the Realms...which if you read as a first timer on Realms Novels would actually like.

For me the vast appearance of many different Realms races and monsters on book 1 totally beats "The first book of Icewind Dale Trilogy(The Crystal Shard)"

Plus there are also some awkward moments in Book 1 that I find very unusual in the Realms. I remember reading a scene in it where Sunbright (a human), his elf companion, the dwarf and a platoon of orcs had tea together...that one made me lol.

orc orc orc orc orc orc orc orc orc orc orc

Edited by - creyzi4zb12 on 15 Aug 2010 17:22:53
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Dennis
Great Reader

9933 Posts

Posted - 17 Aug 2010 :  04:29:34  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens

You know, it seems like you are looking for an idiotic argument, so I will stay away.



Ironically, this very type of statement is what precipitates a true id***** argument....But Wooly is correct; we've wandered quite far from the main topic...

Every beginning has an end.

Edited by - Dennis on 17 Aug 2010 08:59:18
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Dennis
Great Reader

9933 Posts

Posted - 17 Aug 2010 :  05:10:39  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by creyzi4zb12

I didn't know there was a book four on the Netheril Trilogy?




It's a trilogy, not a quartet. Oh, well, any of the 3 published books can be expanded in a two 2-part story published separately but considered as one book, much like how Feist's first novel of the Riftwar trilogy.

quote:
Originally posted by creyzi4zb12

As to the others having a problem about Sunbright being the main limelight in the story, take note that the Netheril Trilogy not only talks about the legend of Netheril but also other communities in the Realms. The Blood Ravens for example.



It's not a problem that other communities in the Realms are given attention. The problem is this trilogy is supposed to be largely “about” Netheril; we should have seen more Netheril lore; the series should have lived to its title. A friend of mine once told me that the apt title of this trilogy is “The Legend of a (Ridiculously) Blond Shaman.”

I don't dislike the entire trilogy, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered to reread it. But as my point in my original post, and let me quote myself:

quote:

“Why choose an outsider – and insignificant one, for that matter – when the story could have been best rendered by focusing on one or two Netherese archwizards all throughout the trilogy?”



quote:
Originally posted by creyzi4zb12
As for me: The best book in the trilogy was the first one.



I find it rather dragging; and nearly everything that occurred in that book discouraged me to read the next two books. Had I no idea as to the significant events in book 2, I wouldn't have read it and the last one. So needless to say, the second book is my favorite. From it we've learned perhaps the greatest lesson of ambitious, mortal men. And in comparison to the other 2, it at least provided more focus on the empire and more of its people.

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Dennis
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Posted - 31 Oct 2010 :  06:16:31  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote

I read in some forums that WotC is going to release omnibus for ALL RSEs, including The Netheril Trilogy. Is this true? I checked in WotC's site, there's no news whatsoever concerning this...

Every beginning has an end.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
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USA
36793 Posts

Posted - 31 Oct 2010 :  14:45:52  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by dennis


I read in some forums that WotC is going to release omnibus for ALL RSEs, including The Netheril Trilogy. Is this true? I checked in WotC's site, there's no news whatsoever concerning this...



I'd not consider the Netheril trilogy an RSE... Yes, one of the biggest RSEs ever did happen during that trilogy, but it was ancient history for the modern Realms, and the Fall wasn't really a focal point of the trilogy.

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Dennis
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9933 Posts

Posted - 03 Nov 2010 :  05:16:54  Show Profile Send Dennis a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Fair enough. It's just that the effects of the Fall were so catastrophic. But you're right, 'twas not really the center of the story. Another reason the entire trilogy should have been expanded, or rewritten.

Every beginning has an end.
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