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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Dec 2013 : 19:16:15
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Truly excellent series of replies by Ed, many many thanks for putting more Lore into our Realms (especially Cormyr lore - *ahem* feel free to add more *ahem* 
Best Wishes to Ed and Family for the New Year and to our gracious Lady Herald of Realmslore as well
Kindest regards
Damian |
So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005 |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2013 : 19:35:52
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quote:
Originally posted by crazedventurers
Truly excellent series of replies by Ed, many many thanks for putting more Lore into our Realms (especially Cormyr lore - *ahem* feel free to add more *ahem*
Best Wishes to Ed and Family for the New Year and to our gracious Lady Herald of Realmslore as well
Kindest regards
Damian
+1 and seconded! :) Thank you both very much! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2013 : 20:21:29
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Why, thank you! And our good wishes right back at you! 
Hi again, all. Ed’s ongoing lore replies are up to 2011, specifically to December the 6th of 2011, and a query posted on that day by Eladrinstar: “. . . one of my players (a young woman new to D&D who has played the Baldur’s Gate computer games and has been curious about the Realms ever since, and was quite surprised to learn she had been, in a way, playing D&D already,) who has come up with the neat idea of a Druid who, while dedicated to Mielikki, has family ties to bardic worshipers of Oghma. This druid likes to visit (as respectfully as possible in the case of the dangerous or intelligent creatures) as many fey, elementals, animals, beasts, and even vermin she can speak with, magically or not, in order to send back any stories or lore to her kin. Now, the player (not sure about the character) absolutely adores Whale Sharks, and I want to (eventually) surprise her with an encounter with some.
I was wondering where (if anywhere) they could be found in the realms, and if they could be found in the Sea of Fallen Stars? If so, would you happen to have any notes on their specifics to the realms (a bit of a stretch, I'm not sure I've seen them even mentioned in any fantasy literature), and if they have any special ties to the intelligent races of the Seros?”
Ed replies:
Whale Sharks are known as “sharks of stars” or just “stardrifters” in the Realms (names obviously derived from the spots that adorn the dark flanks and uppersides of their skins), and have always been present in small numbers in the western Sea of Fallen Stars (around Presper and the Pirate Isles, where the waters are rich in schools of small fish, spawning grounds, and tiny seaborne life, so the whale sharks can readily find plentiful food). On rare occasions, usually in the wake of severe storms that disrupt shallow ocean bed life, they may cruise into more easterly areas of the Inner Sea, though they seldom remain there for long. There’s something about the water in the Bay of Chessenta that they dislike, so they avoid the area entirely.
In and around Faerûn, stardrifters are most numerous in the eastern Shining Sea (between Tharsult and the mainland near Ormpur and Sheirtalar), and a second area they frequent is among the Nelanther and between those islands and the mainland. At spawning times for tiny fish they augment their diet with, they are apt to cruise near the mouths of the many watercourses that flow south out of Thindol and Mhair, to gorge themselves on the runs of fish coming to spawn. The stardrifters of the Sea of Swords tend to have a purplish cast to the darker areas of their skin.
Merfolk and aquatic elves in the Sea of Fallen Stars on occasion “hitch rides” on the docile stardrifters by catching hold of a fin (never the tail) and being towed. Stardrifters are regarded as benign, friendly sea beings.
The tritons of the depths, however, attach more importance to stardrifters; they believe that the spirits of wise and important tritons (elders who have done great things during their lives, and seen much) pass into a nearby stardrifter when they die, and so “the elders watch” when a stardrifter is nigh. Moreover, at moments of great importance to a triton, when guidance is desired and a decision must be made, that triton should seek out and watch a stardrifter, for a sign. Something the shark does, or where it swims to or tarries at, will have relevant meaning to the decision at hand.
To morkoth, stardrifters are cattle: easy but boring, merely palatable food, to be harvested when the need arises and ignored at other times, except as guides in murky water who can lead to spawning areas or schools of small fish, where other prey may be found.
Dryland clergy of Oghma respect stardrifters as “wise ones,” echoing the belief of the tritons that they retain memories and the accumulated wisdom of others, and this has had a curious side-effect: sharks of stars are one of the few aquatic creatures that clergy of Umberlee don’t value.
So saith Ed. Ranging deep as well as far afield...
love to all,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2013 : 20:23:16
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And Ed has done it again; sent me a lore reply as I was posting his previous one. So here we go...
Hello again, fellow scribes of the Keep. Ed’s replies have now reached 2012, and specifically a barrage of followup questions posted by scribe Eldacar on May the 29th.
Eldacar was responding to this reply by me: “Eldacar and Sage, it was the now-extinct Principality of Fairbanner, which occupied a tiny bite out of The Grand Duchy of Shantal (a strip roughly 2 miles long by half that wide, along the Duchy's eastern border [[north end]]). The cambion in question, who styled himself "High Lord" Baerm Lamordair (names we later learned he'd taken from wealthy Vilhon Reach merchants he'd murdered, to seize their wealth), was trying to make Fairbanner much larger at the time we tangled with him. He fled after we took down most of his band of misfits (human/monster crossbreeds who were mostly "shunned outlaws" and brigands) - - and Fairbanner collapsed with him.”
To that, Eldacar responded: “Many thanks. Some additional questions:
- What year specifically did he take control of the area in the Border Kingdoms?
- What year was he brought down?
- Did he have significantly larger ambitions than the region he was ruling at the time? Such as conquering the Border Kingdoms entirely? He wanted to make it bigger, but how far did his ambitions extend? (This may play into a question about Border Kingdoms conquerers I think I have sitting on my little pile somewhere.)
- Does he yet survive? You mentioned that he fled, but not if he was slain.
- Was he one of the ones aware of other cambions?
- How did the Knights find out he was a cambion, and who else seemed to be aware of his "heritage" (either seeking alliance, assistance, attempting to depose him, or something else)?
Whereupon I replied: “Eldacar, we don't know if the cambion still survives, but he definitely survived our attempts to hunt him down. We learned he was a cambion from a mage of the Border Kingdoms who'd tangled with him previously, and when we met him, his crimson skin and "flames for pupils" eyes supported that identification...”
Play having sufficiently progressed in the “home” Realms campaign, Ed can now give answers to Eldacar’s questions, as follows:
The cambion calling himself Baerm Lamordair proclaimed himself High Lord of Fairbanner in 1357 DR, though at that time Fairbanner consisted of just one farm he’d seized by the sword. This proclamation was largely ignored by everyone, though the Grand Duchy the farm was nominally part of took notice of Lamordair’s existence in the spring of 1358, when Lamordair violently annexed two neighboring farms to enlarge Fairbanner (to the size THO describes in her reply). He then (the summer of 1358) met with formidable but unsustained resistance from several wizards who (paid by the Duchy to do so, but quite willing in any event) blasted Lamordair’s motley army to blood and corpses and moved on.
Lamordair only survived the mages’ attack by fleeing headlong and far. It took him until the spring of 1362 DR to assemble a new band of belligerents and retake the same three farms to refound Fairbanner anew. He then decided to try to find allies (in the Barony of Great Oak in particular) to fight at his side in a military shattering of the Grand Duchy of Shantal, but succeeded only in bolstering the ranks of his band with a few dozen land-hungry mercenaries who’d fled some disastrous skirmishes near Ulgarth, and were hoping to soon retire from making war to become idle nobility somewhere.
If what he told them can be believed as reflecting his true and lasting desires (those who knew him best, such as the battered old giant of a mercenary warrior Dethodd, the closest thing Lamordair had to a trusted general, believe any successes would have spurred the cambion on to higher ambitions, so if not destroyed he would have just kept trying to conquer more and more of the Border Kingdoms), Lamordair intended to eventually conquer Sorndorn and however much of Ondeeme and the Barony of Great Oak he needed to, to assault and take Thur, so as to have a port on the Lake of Steam—but that he was quite willing to be “slow and sly” about this, to keep from arousing foes on all sides and having to fight a war on many fronts.
In the late summer of 1362 DR, however, Lamordair crossed paths with the Knights of Myth Drannor, who were traveling in the Border Kingdoms on a different matter, and they carved his tiny army apart. When he sent Dethodd to try to murder them as they slept, by night, and they responded by spell-hurling the warrior back at him like an aerial missile, Lamordair thought the wizards who’d routed him before had returned, and simply fled, leaving his dreams in the dust of vanishing Fairbanner.
The Knights hunted him for about a tenday, but then went on with their own business. The cambion didn’t return to the Border Kingdoms, but made his way south to Sheirtalar, and attempted to find mages who would take him on as a general.
He had concluded that he had to have powerful wizards working with (or preferably for, but to accomplish the latter he would have to find a way to gain a hold over a powerful mage, and the achieving of that baffled him) him to gain power and to conquer anywhere in the Realms, and resolved to get some. What he got instead, of course, was used by powerful wizards, treated as expendable fodder in dangerous “go and get me this magic from that deadly rival mage” missions. Realizing this would lead to swift doom, Lamordair betrayed one of his patrons to the beholder he’d been sent to rob—and ended up working for the beholder, one Xuldelankh, who was then lurking in Ormpur in magical disguise, and needed agents who could operate more easily.
Neither Lamordair nor Xuldelankh were foolish enough to trust each other, but settled into a cordial working relationship, that survived until both cambion and patron were destroyed in an ill-advised attack on a dragon (in the winter of 1377 DR). The dragon, the elder black wyrm Malarmalagoth of the Wyrmbones, left their heads (that of the beholder blinded and shorn of all eyestalks) intact inside protective and preservative glowing magical fields, as warning displays to others—which is how the Knights learned of Lamordair’s fate.
So saith Ed, and there you have it; the ill-starred later career of the cambion Baerm Lamordair (whose real name was something else, of course).
love to all,
THO
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Hoihe
Acolyte
Hungary
8 Posts |
Posted - 30 Dec 2013 : 21:06:23
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Ahoy!
I'd like to ask for the official stance on a few questions, and how much of a deterrent to canon lore would it be to do them if they aren't considered possible in non-supplemental canon:
Using 3.5 ruleset, set in year 1348+
First of:
Reincarnate/True Reincarnate, as in, the druidic spell that brings back a deceased person in a new body that is considered to have just entered adulthood in that race's specifics.
How true exactly is the transformation? Does a male human who was brought back by it as a female wood elf (there was a twist [:I) live as long as an elf, or just as long as a human? And what exactly is the character's age, physically? He/she was 35 years old as a human, but brought back as an adult elf. Materials are rather inconsistent about "Physical adulthood" for elves, though. Some say they are adults by 50, but psychologically considered adults at 110 thanks to culture. What's the truth? Also, will said character retain his/her form after the Spellplague/in a dead magic zone [Essentially asking, is the spell really permanent, with no way to reverse it save for overwriting it [wish/miracle/transmutation spell]. And would the character stay as an elf after death, without transforming back? [the last question is already answered in that case, with staying an elf, but I wonder the official stance on it! The character has since then identified himself as a female wood elf, and is starting to have trouble seeing how life would be as anything else [although does have a little idea, having became a druid of Solonor]. it was assumed Reverie and the rest of elven natural psychological/physical traits appear with the transformation. And also, would such characters' children be elves to the core?
And last question about this question: Can such a character visit Evermeet without being incarnated by the wards? [Provided character acts as an elf and identifies as one]
Secondly!
Is it possible for a human, without using Reincarnate, to permanently and truly become an elf?
By that, I mean: Is it possible to use Transmutation magic to transform oneself into a moon elf without danger of transforming back at death [with Raise Dead ready to counter it], living as long as an elf with every elven trait becoming the characters'? [Cultural traits like weapon proficiency are of course out of question. Focusing on Reverie and marriage specialties. Outlook of character is slowly being indoctrinated to be elven-like by the very character]. Also, would said character be able to visit Evermeet [while keeping past a secret save for a select few]. Again, the same question about ability to have elven children.
If yes, how would one go about it?
Elven high-magic,
Miracle performed by a High priestess of Corellon (maybe with assistance of priestesses of Sehanine Moonbow and another Corellonite priest. The character in question is a Devout True Believer [as in has the feat and the background feat] of Sehanine Moonbow)[Character also performed many High-Risk deeds for the elves, such as, sneaking lore out from the Vaults of Candlekeep to help some elves against an ancient enemy against the Keeps regulations. Character is a Reader, and thus, would have had to ask a scribe to copy the lore, but because of the secrecy, he had done it himself, hiding it as "taking notes and calculating".]
An Epic Spell?
Transmutation ritual?
Artifact?
[And if it takes nagging Elminster to be done, also mention that! The character has met Elminster a few times in that "campaign" by now. Rescued a few times and also redirected.]
Third question!
Is there an example of the above in lore? That is, a human willingly, and intentionally [with some elves' consent at least too] becoming a True elf?
[This exempts Reincarnate/True Reincarnate unfortunately, but if there is an example of such as well, I'd welcome it!]
Fourth Question!
Do non-elven [half-elves excluded from this bracket] worshipers of the Seldarine go to Arvanaith/Arvandor in death? If it takes a very devout worshiper, what is the level required?
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Edited by - Hoihe on 30 Dec 2013 21:55:19 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 00:18:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoihe
Ahoy!
I'd like to ask for the official stance on a few questions, and how much of a deterrent to canon lore would it be to do them if they aren't considered possible in non-supplemental canon:
Using 3.5 ruleset, set in year 1348+
Hiya, Hoihe!
Just a bit of an FYI... While Ed is the go-to man for Realmslore, and can answer your questions from a lore standpoint, he's neither a rules guy or an official WotC person. For queries based purely on rules, the WotC forums may be more appropriate.
I don't believe he uses the 3.5 rules, either.
But as I said, Ed is the man for Realmlore. He has given us much lore in this pages, over the years, but as some of the recent posts from his lovely Hooded emissary will show, there is sometimes a delay on his answers.
All that aside, welcome to Candlekeep!  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Veritas
Learned Scribe
209 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 01:32:20
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Hello good scribes,
I write hoping that Ed can spare a few words for the unnamed spell in Cloak of Shadows which the "Masked One" (Velsharoon?)used to "dissolve [] pe[ople] and subsume [their] powers". Having used this power before, the Masked One expected to gain the "memories and mastery" of the interloping Elminster had he succeeded striking El with it. The Masked One intended to use it on Hoar's avatar to seize Hoar's power had Ao not interfered.
Did this spell work, as implied by, literally stealing all the memories and magical ability from its victims? In hypothetical 1e-3e game terms, had a level 1 magic user been able to cast the spell on a level 20 magic user, would he then become a level 20 mage by stealing the memories and mastery of the dissolved mage? How would the spell have worked?
Could the spell work on El as a Chosen of Mystra? Would it have worked on Hoar's avatar (or any avatar at the time)? Could it have worked on an undead? If the Masked One hypothetically gotten the spell over on Szass Tam, would he have gained the lich's enormous mastery of magic?
Cloak of Shadows implied that the construct the Masked One was using functioned as described above and could be used to steal an avatar's power, having Ao himself intervene to foil the Masked One's scheme by hurling Elminster into the fray. I found the spell a curious addition when most other sources that housing memories of powerful mages may give some boost in power (various kiira) although over time as the magical proficiency also required developing mental discipline.
Any scraps of lore relating to this spell is greatly appreciated. Many thanks Ed and THO and happy new year!
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Hoihe
Acolyte
Hungary
8 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 02:29:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Hoihe
Ahoy!
I'd like to ask for the official stance on a few questions, and how much of a deterrent to canon lore would it be to do them if they aren't considered possible in non-supplemental canon:
Using 3.5 ruleset, set in year 1348+
Hiya, Hoihe!
Just a bit of an FYI... While Ed is the go-to man for Realmslore, and can answer your questions from a lore standpoint, he's neither a rules guy or an official WotC person. For queries based purely on rules, the WotC forums may be more appropriate.
I don't believe he uses the 3.5 rules, either.
But as I said, Ed is the man for Realmlore. He has given us much lore in this pages, over the years, but as some of the recent posts from his lovely Hooded emissary will show, there is sometimes a delay on his answers.
All that aside, welcome to Candlekeep!
Eheh, no worries, got patience! And thanks for the welcome.
And I'm more interested on the lore on this than the raw rules! Thought this's the best place to go.
In the end it's usually the DM's ruling, but I'm sure a bit of an insight from the creator can help in their decision-making!
As for the ruleset, I've mentioned it in case laws of magical permanency changed between editions/years. [Especially with the Spellplague, Time of Troubles and other great events].
I'm especially curious as to what can make a true transformation, why and how lore-side.
I've always believed most transmutation spells are not permanent, even with permanency, because they are "sustained" through magic, and the person isn't transformed at their very core. This is why I brought up Reincarnate because it seems like a complete "makeover" of the receipent, with only their memories and who they are remaining untouched.
I have also forgot to add another question:
When a sorcerer goes through such a ritual/reincarnate, and draws his power from dragon blood [it was estabilished it's a silver-dragon heritage sorcerer], would they lose the said power if they lose their heritage with the transformation? |
Edited by - Hoihe on 31 Dec 2013 02:33:16 |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 04:20:43
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@Hoihe: Going by something written in the novel ELFSHADOW, I have to say the character in question may not be a 'true elf' in terms of where he/she goes in the afterlife. In the novel, we have a half-elf who wonders if she has an 'elven' soul and will be allowed into Arvandor upon her death. The answer is YES...but then she was born a half-elf to begin with, was raised by elves (I don't think this part actually matters as to the disposition of her soul) and she worshiped the Seldarine. The real issue, to me, is whether his/her worship of an elven deity trumps the lack of an 'elven soul' unless reincarnation transforms the soul as well. I would likely rule that his/her soul goes on to be with the elven deity worshiped. From a 'flavor' point of view, though, it may be interesting to have the Seldarine reject a non-elven soul...if you think it is appropriate for the Seldarine to react that way. I too would like to see how Ed/Lady Hooded One responds to this question though.
Oh also, as regards to your general question about transformation magic. The elves have High Magic that transforms elves into other species (and other types of elves, including drow, if they wish). I presume that this spell, or a variant of it, could transform a non-elf into a 'true' elf, complete with a transformation of the soul as well (if there is such a thing as an 'elven' soul).
This line of questioning raises some interesting dynamics from a lore/flavor perspective. I've always assumed that elves were a different kind of spirit being (at the level of the soul)...and this difference is what makes them so magical, gives them a stronger connection to the Weave and life in general, and allows them to develop a strong sense of connection to other elves (i.e., elven communion mentioned in some sources) and allows them to bond with a mate and/or an animal companion on a much deeper level than the game rules imply. This all assumes that you use such concepts in your campaign. This spiritual difference also grants them longevity/immortality. If Ed's home game uses these concepts, then perhaps the reincarnated soul is NOT 'elven' and thus would not travel to Arvandor...but then the deity's decision to accept the soul would trump this fact. Very interesting query and to echo Wooley...welcome to the Keep! |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 04:43:51
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Hello again, fellow scribes of the Keep. Ed finishes his “tour through the years” of unaddressed lore queries by tackling one from 2013.
Back on the 17th of February, scribe Marco Volo posted: “Ed had mentioned the presence of “adventurers’ clubs” in Waterdeep. It would be interesting for me to hear more about them, their operating and whereabouts in the city. If he has time, maybe Elminster (who probably has a house somewhere hidden in Waterdeep) can say a little more about these clubs in the City of Splendors? Or about adventurers clubs in general?”
Marco, Ed informs me that Elminster secretly owns dozens of buildings in the city, and has three residences, from a lowly garret in Dock Ward to a hidden apartment in a noble villa whose owners have no idea they’re hosting a secret way in, a secret stair, and no less than four secret rooms at the top of those steps, with their own chimney and firehearth and larder.
He also responded to your request at some length, and tells me he isn’t done yet, so I’m splitting his reply to you into more than one part.
Here’s the first one:
The City of Splendors has, over the years, been home to dozens of short-lived adventurers’ clubs. Mostly they burn down or go bankrupt, some of them after being damaged often and thoroughly in armed and bloody brawls. This has led to a local reputation for danger, which usually means “I don’t want one located anywhere near where I live, thank you VERY much.”
However, many of these clubs, and most of this fell reputation, comes from the sort of adventurers’ club, now outlawed by the Lords of Waterdeep, that’s really just a tavern run on the cheap and offering cheap wine and ale, because it subsists on joining fees and dues paid by members (and everyone drinking in the place is either a member or a guest—“guests” being a lone individual brought in by a member, once only, because if they return for a second time, they must join or be ejected). These sort of rowdy establishments are all gone now; the best remembered ones are the oldest and longest-lived, The Proud Sword (westfront The High Road, Castle Ward), and the notorious Red Blades High (westfront Slut Street, Dock Ward).
The adventurers’ clubs that survive are akin to real-world London gentlemens’ clubs of the Victorian and Edwardian eras; that is, large buildings that provide meals, laundry and tailor (garment and boot repair) facilities, lounge areas, meeting rooms, and the equivalent of private hotel rooms for their members. The better clubs also provide libraries of maps, journals of adventures, and general reference works (such as taxes, fees, licenses, and laws regarding adventurers in various Faerûnian locales). The very best employ errand-runners and trade agents, who can go and fetch or buy replacement weapons, clothing, and needed gear from various Waterdhavian establishments, on behalf of members.
In short, the Waterdhavian adventurers’ clubs of today function as a shared home for adventurers visiting the city—a first-class hotel in which they are part owners, and so are treated with real respect by the staff, not given supercilious or bad service.
The foremost clubs at present are:
Rahoringjak’s House: Staffed by retired adventurers who have grown old, wise, and full of stories (not to mention magically prepared to cope with almost anything a member or guest can throw at them, including deadly monsters getting out of cages to rampage), Rahoringjak’s is the oldest and shabbiest, but most relaxed and comfortable, of all Waterdhavian adventurers’ clubs. It has some six hundred members, a magnificent trophy room adorned with all sorts of alarming and disgusting preserved monster heads on the walls, a secret back way in and out (that emerges, by means of rather damp tunnels, several streets away in the back service stair of a tavern that has no business affiliation with the club), twenty sleepover rooms that members can rent for a copper/night, and a secret armory in the cellar that members can raid for replacement weapons for free. Rahoringjak himself died some years ago, and is said to have been stuffed and locked into a closet somewhere on the premises. The kitchens run to hearty stews and roasts, not fancy cuisine, and the stuffed, magically-floating human-head-sized beholder just inside the entry doors is rumored (correctly) to be more than just an adornment (it contains some miniature wands that can be made to discharge their magical effects by someone who knows how, from quite a distance).
Rahoringjak’s is located in Dock Ward. It’s housed in a rambling old gray stone building of several balconies and turrets, that’s actually three old buildings knocked together (which is why most of its roof is purple-to-maroon tiles, but one wing has a dark green tiled roof). These connected buildings stand in a cluster in the interior of a city block bounded on the north by Shesstra’s Street, on the west by Snail Street, on the east by Book Street, and (a long way to the south) on the south by the Street of Curtains. The club is “a stone’s throw” south of Shesstra’s, through the alley gap.
So saith Ed. [[And that’s all for tonight. Ed will return with more as soon as he can.]]
love to all,
THO
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 07:13:15
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| Where did Tyr show up in the time of troubles? |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 08:32:04
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| So much awesome here. Deepest thanks again to both of you for giving us your Realms. More than once my hopes for the Realms have been buoyed (or outright reincarnated) by your presence and enthusiasm here. Thank you for continuing to share with us. Best wishes for 2014! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 15:05:28
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Hi again, all.
And you're very welcome, xaeyruudh - - and Damian, and Eilserus! We love doing this, and both of us wish we had more time to devote to it.
Ed just sent me details of another adventurers' club of Waterdeep, for Marco Volo and us all, and here it is:
The House of Honor: The newest and grandest of adventurers’ clubs, this establishment was founded by Sargrath’s Folly, an adventuring band of elves and half-elves led by the elf swordsman and rogue Tansaryn Sargrath, after a disastrous battle with a dragon left most of them maimed beyond adventuring—and quite lacking in any thirst to resume adventuring careers once they got healed. The eleven members of the Folly still own and run the club, employing two dozen former servants of various Waterdhavian noble houses.
Their skills mean that the large, spacious, well-lit club (its entrance hall and ballroom—more familiar to members for its daytime use as a venue for casual dining or chatter, the many round tables being numerous enough that small groups can assemble far enough from others to keep low-voiced converse private—being clad in shining white marble) can feature the style, hauteur, and graces of a grand noble house, from the elaborately-presented dishes served forth on platters to the etiquette of preparing a room [small hearth-fire lit save on the hottest summer days, bed turned back and scented, drinks left decanted and ready, and so on].
The House is expensive to belong to (original members pay 2,000 gp at the beginning of every year, and newer ones pay up to 4,000, as the joining fee has risen steadily, in 200 gp increments, since the club’s opening), but provides by far the most luxurious venue for adventurers to mingle and inhabit. Every member gets lockable storage; a walk-in closet in every room, and a larger locked room in the cellars. The wine cellar at the House rivals that of the finest dining establishments in Waterdeep, and there are weapons-practice chambers, a room of small heated pools (we real-world moderns might call them “sunken hot tubs”), and a full stables with covered storage for a dozen coaches and wagons (in this case, “full” means harness and tack secure storage and repair, and a stable staff expected and able not only to feed, water, and curry horses, mules, and oxen, but to “doctor” most equine and bovine ailments).
Like many a noble mansion, the House features grand, lofty-ceilinged “grand rooms” on the ground floor, two sweeping staircases that have railings adorned with life-sized bronzes of adventurers in heroic poses that lead to upper floors with wide, high passages, the first floor up housing a library, an armory (weapons repair as well as secure storage), and a dozen meeting rooms, and the three floors above that being devoted to suites of rooms where members can stay (at a cost of one copper piece per head per night, or 2 cp to “secure the room” as one’s own for a day and night through). Many “members of Honor” who winter over in Waterdeep make the House their home for the cold months, using the time and proximity to other adventurers to plan forays, forge alliances, and prepare all that’s needed in the way of gear. Wintering over in Waterdeep, with the shifting fashions among the real nobility (fewer of them relocating to warmer climes for the winter) and the prevalence among wealthy non-nobles to never adopt the habit of wintering in warmer places, means residents of the House have ready winter access to possible sponsors; many of them make good use of this.
It amuses the seldom-seen Tansaryn to employ a ridiculously fluting and whimsical elf, a seven-foot-tall and rail-thin sun elf named Relevandrel Vornreth (and better known as “Relevandrel the Ridiculous” around Waterdeep) as “chamberlain” of the club. This always dark-and-impeccably-clad personage can be as haughtily sneering as the most overblown noble, but is playacting, and usually can’t resist making a jest or mincingly and eye-rollingly acting out mimicry of either an individual or a type of person. His stage sighs and grand verbiage amuse many, and most members of Honor love him and regard him as a staunch ally (Need to get a bleeding body out of your rooms unseen at highsun? Relevandrel’s your man. Have to procure JUST the right wine to fill goblets, right now in the dead of night? Relevandrel’s your man. Can’t remember the name of the highcoin-lass you so enjoyed last time, but need her right here and right now? Relevandrel’s your . . .). Many adventurers can do their own devastating impersonations of Relevandrel, but usually choose to do them outside Waterdeep.
The House is located in Sea Ward, occupying the center of the block bounded on the north by Rough Road (always “Raruph” to Sea Warders, by the way, because the older name for the street is Raruph’s Ride), on the west by Feather Street and The Sutherlane, on the east by Mendever Street, and on the south by Zarimitar Street (mislabeled “Zarimtar” on some maps and street signs). Its size and grandeur make it look like what it formerly was: the grand mansion of a noble family (the Neshers built it to be their new home, but sold it without ever moving in when family fortunes took a sharp dip, and the older family members voiced their preference for their older digs over the “large, soulless, overbright” new ones).
So saith Ed. Who is busy busy busy, but hopes to impart details of more adventuring clubs before year's end.
love to all,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 15:11:57
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Veritas, I'm obviously not Ed, but can start to make a reply to you regarding that spell, because it interested me greatly, I've chatted with Ed about it, and made some notes.
It's called "Crawling Subsumption," and it won't work against a Chosen or anyone else attuned to the Weave who's conscious and able to access the Weave, as they can dissipate it. It requires the caster to have more mental "fierceness" and powers of concentration than the target, so it's unlikely that a low-level mage could use it to overcome a foe of much higher level.
However, that little bit is as far as my notes go, so we'll have to wait for Ed to elucidate further. Accordingly, off your question has gone to him...
love,
THO |
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Blueblade
Senior Scribe
USA
804 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 15:17:02
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I have to work New Year's, so in case I can't get back to a keyboard before our ahead-of-us Australian colleagues close this thread, I want to thank Ed and THO deeply for keeping my faith in the Realms for me, these last few years, and continuing to provide lore on the incredibly rich and alive and endlessly fascinating world Ed created.
Long may this continue!
BB
P.S. And to keep this post legal, I do in fact have a question for Ed: long, long ago you mentioned to me about an adventuring band made up of ghosts (maybe not D&D ghosts, but wraithlike floating/flying haunting spirits). Was this in the Realms? Or another project? Can you share any more details?
Thanks, as always! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 15:18:54
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Heh. As it happens, the last time I said goodbye to Ed in person, I thanked him for being the keeper of my dreams, and such a good one, too.
He liked the phrase. A lot.
love to all,
THO |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 15:32:47
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Well met
Could I please ask that my fellow scribes refrain from posting any more requests for lore to Ed and THO as this scroll will soon be sealed [this then allows THO to better synchronise the crossover into the upcoming 2014 scroll]? You may soon resume your requests in the 2014 scroll which I will open shortly.
Thank you. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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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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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2013)
Topic Locked
