quote:

---

Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all!
Jakk: the same NDA Dennis just found holds true for you, too.

So saith Ed. Who is deep in crafting new Realmslore right now!
love to all,
THO

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rils

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Hooded One
Rils, I THINK Dugmaren may be a Carl Sargent creation.

---

Groovy, thanks for the info THO. I'll just ask one last question about Dugmaren that Ed may or may not be able to answer - has he or his followers ever had a significant presence in the Realms? I know of maybe 2 or 3 references to his temples (there's one in Silverymoon I guess, and one down at the Great Rift), but that's about all I have been able to come up with.

Also, if I may ask another question - the magic lore on gemstones found in Volo's Guide to All Things Magical has always fascinated me, and I'm working with my DM on ways to incorporate it into the current version of D&D that we play. What was the inspiration behind the properties of the stones in general, and is there any other magical lore related to gemstones which didn't make it into that publication and which you can share? Also, how common is this knowledge within the Realms - is it stuff that most mages know, or is it fairly rare and limited to a few specialists?

Many many thanks!

---

quote:

---

Sapphire: Sapphire is a brilliant blue, translucent corundum mineral. Sapphires vary from a clear, pale blue to a radiant azure. Sapphires augment enchantments, and so are widely used in the making of magical swords and other magical items, especially those related to magical prowess, the mind, and the element of air. An important exception to this boosting is magic that causes fear, anger, despair, or insanity: The wearer of a sapphire is partially protected against such effects. In magical processes, sapphires are best used at midmorn.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Hooded One

A rebooted Weave without a guiding sentience would be like the restless waters rippling endlessly in a tiny pool that has a spring gushing into it: echoing and re-echoing all disturbances . . . and ripe for any sentience that has the means (or more likely, a lot of them, in a tug-of-war that could shatter some of the minds involved, once it turned nasty), to guide or try to control or dominate. "Interesting times," to be sure.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by thebaron

"Next we have Elminster's Forgotten Realms in Quarter 4. We basically went to Ed and said hey, why don't you take all your campaign notes, all the information you've been putting together for your FR campaign and lets compile it into a book. Show us the realms as you've developed it in your campaign setting and lets get that to everybody. It's our celebration of the Forgotten Realms and pulling back the curtain to show you what the designer of the campaign setting has done."
quoted from:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/news/317434-seminar-transcript-upcoming-products-2012-a.html


This sounds VERY promising and hopeful will about 50 volumes that would suck my wallet... So how much will the original material be allowed truly shine through as I have gathered from these forums is my question?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Asgetrion

I second this question, and let me say that I haven't this excited about a FR accessory for a long while!

Now I'm hoping that they will publish more of Ed's campaign notes; maybe we will eventually see something like 'Dungeons of the Realms', or even 'Return to Haunted Halls' as a "real" 90+ page supplement?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jakk

quote:

---

Originally posted by Asgetrion

I second this question, and let me say that I haven't this excited about a FR accessory for a long while!

Now I'm hoping that they will publish more of Ed's campaign notes; maybe we will eventually see something like 'Dungeons of the Realms', or even 'Return to Haunted Halls' as a "real" 90+ page supplement?

---

Welcome back, Asgetrion! I concur on all counts; this announcement, in large part, is why you and I (and numerous others) have returned to the 'Keep in recent weeks. Apparently, there is a vast amount of activity going on around the Realms in this coming year, none of which (apart from the comic book series) Ed can say more than a single word about (usually "Yes," "No," or "NDA" - if that's a word; I suppose it counts as three words, but it contains no information).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Asgetrion

I have many fond memories of running the Haunted Halls, and for years I used it (and Eveningstar) as a starting point for my campaigns. I know now that Ed originally submitted something like 96 pages worth of material, and as I noted, one of my dreams would be to see that complete manuscript published one day. However, that day may never come, and since I've recently ran a few Pathfinder sessions in the Halls, I thought maybe I should finally ask about a few things that have troubled me down the years... (and hope that NDAs won't prevent him answering all of them)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jakk

quote:

---

Originally posted by Asgetrion

I have many fond memories of running the Haunted Halls, and for years I used it (and Eveningstar) as a starting point for my campaigns. I know now that Ed originally submitted something like 96 pages worth of material, and as I noted, one of my dreams would be to see that complete manuscript published one day. However, that day may never come, and since I've recently ran a few Pathfinder sessions in the Halls, I thought maybe I should finally ask about a few things that have troubled me down the years... (and hope that NDAs won't prevent him answering all of them)

---

I would also love to see that complete original manuscript published; my last 2E campaign (and the last full campaign I DMed) began in the Haunted Halls, and I remember seeing some things that didn't quite add up in the module as published... and learning that the final product was greatly cut down in size explained much of that. I, too, am interested in the answers to Asgetrion's questions; my party also revived Miior, and I suspect that's yet another story.

To expand on Asgetrion's query: I'm sure this has already been asked and answered, but how many dungeon levels are there for the Halls?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Asgetrion
I know that I could do whatever I wanted with any level in the Halls, but... what prompted these questions is that the next session the PCs will likely head down to level two, and I'm not entirely satisfied with my own ideas...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by crazedventurers

quote:

---

Originally posted by Asgetrion
I know that I could do whatever I wanted with any level in the Halls, but... what prompted these questions is that the next session the PCs will likely head down to level two, and I'm not entirely satisfied with my own ideas...

---

Some aspects of The Halls are covered in the Knights trilogy by Ed (Large rooms, big doors and gates to Arabel )

Ed also provided some lore on Whispers Crypt which is here
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9685&whichpage=6


As an aside, in my Haunted Halls mini-campaign I used Gary's dungeon from the 1e DMG (which I understand was reprinted in DMG2 for 3e?) for my level two and then had a series of large caverns for level 3 that led into the Stonelands, the Caverns of the Claws and Whispers Crypt (though my players never got past the first cavern which contained a large snapping turtle and the deranged 'cave men' that worshipped it as their god, they decided to run away after the plate wearing priest was crushed in the beasts mouth and spat out with the caveman shaman mumbling about 'soft food for god' soft food for god'.....

Ahhh good memories from 20 years ago (is it really that long? )

Cheers

Damian

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all.
<snip>
... and one important something hidden there long ago.
<snip>
love,
THO

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hope I've been of help. These are the fun sorts of "how things work" questions I like answering.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Hooded One

Hi again, all.
Asgetrion, Jakk . . . from what I recall of the original Haunted Halls, it had the main level you see (with a little more "dungeon dressing," in particular the decaying remnants of a ward that had JUST been broken by a previous adventuring band whose remains were scattered around the dungeon - - that ward being why no one had reached Miior before the PCs), then the upper level citadel with the kobolds (I can't remember how much of that made it into the published module), then a lower level that was smaller than the main level but covered a larger area (I know that sounds contradictory, but what I mean was: it was a few rooms, then a L-o-o-o-n-g ([[miles]] passage to Whisper's Crypt), plus a separate lower level that may or may not have made it into the published module, consisting of a natural rift/long but narrow crack in the solid rock that linked all levels, but went nowhere else: the kobolds had a privy, their dung fell down a shaft into the rift, and the rift accessed the main level and was its own lower level, with some hidden items, remains of murdered kobolds that had been hurriedly stuffed down the privy-shaft [[long ago]] with minor treasure such as coins and items "on" them, and one important something hidden there long ago.
I'd love to see the full Haunted Halls published, yes, because it's a fun "old school" dungeon that illustrates Ed's humor, the lore and interconnected things he sneaks into his dungeons...and of course it had the entire village of Eveningstar detailed down to the last chamberpot.
Off your questions go to Ed, for his responses, of course...but it was the wards (edited out of the published product, possibly by Ed if he was drastically trimming it himself, possibly by an in-house TSR editor) that had kept Miior hidden for all those years...
love,
THO

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer

Hello Ed and THO!

Ed, what did the Royal Regalia of Esparin consist of? Was it just a crown? Or were there other objects besides a crown, such as gloves, books, potions, baldachins or swords?

Was any of the regalia of Elven or Dwarvish make? If yes, were these items repurposed for use as regalia or did they come with any promises (false or otherwise) from its makers?

Were any pieces lost or otherwise not recovered when Cormyr defeated Esparin?

I can imagine Cormyr wanting to melt down anything metallic, but am curious what the fate of the regalia was, if it even existed.

As always, thank you.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Hooded One

Oooh, this one I can answer without Ed! (Or rather, from Realmsplay and the notes I took while playing.)
Underdark river freight traffic goes on "snakes" and "skimmers."
A snake is a series of log-like hollowed-out giant Underdark beetle carapaces, joined end to end by giant-spiderweb ropes to form a flexible sequence of cylinders that hold cargo (like a toy snake made of wooden cylinders joined end to end). They are paddled and poled by "steerers" at the head end - - and if they're long, the middle, too - - a dangerous job if the river runs fast.
A skimmer is like a kayak (long and narrow), but has a wider deck atop it that supports hinged "rise and fall" outrigger pods made of insect chitin (bodies of large beetles, sealed to be made watertight), that can spread out where the watercourse is wide or be folded over top of the deck where it gets narrow. Cargo goes in the kayak body under the deck, and atop the deck (shrouded against wet), not in the pods, which are for flotation only.
There you go! More instant Realmslore, from Ed's vast mind . . .
love,
THO

---