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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Jan 2013 : 00:20:59
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Hi again, all.
xaeyruudh, the names of the Ice Lakes will have to be an Ed-answer.
All I have in my notes are that one of them is called "Antaerth" and another (possibly the largest, but it may just have SEEMED to largest to we Knights, while hastening past, hiking overland out of the area) is "Ondran's Grave."
Presumably because Ondran's body is/was somewhere in it (as to who Ondran was, your guess is as good as mine).
I've sent your query off to Ed, and We'll See . . .
love,
THO |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2013 : 00:40:20
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
(as to who Ondran was, your guess is as good as mine)
Well, my guess is that he was the "good twin" of Offdran.
Your guess is considerably better than mine. 
And with that I shall hush. Thank you!  |
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dravenloft
Acolyte
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2013 : 03:04:52
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Milady, I've a question for Ed about the popular pasttimes of places like Cormyr, Waterdeep, or the Dales.
The sports. What's popular to play and watch? Are there any, popular or not, that involve magic (be it magecraft or cleric)? |
Space Opera, Planetary Romance, Speculative Fiction and similar by me.
check it out at http://universal-nexus.com |
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BlackAce
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
358 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2013 : 08:02:50
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Dear Ed and Lady Hooded One, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I never thought Ed would have the time provide anything like this wealth of detail! This means a lot to me. - Emma (Jay's considerably better half.)
BA edit: Awesome! Thanks Ed! |
Edited by - BlackAce on 20 Jan 2013 09:49:48 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2013 : 14:44:35
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@xaeyruudh - while I commend you on getting more geography tidbits out of Ed (and THO), I have to say I am also scared - my mind went right to the same 'Offdran' thing yours did. 
Thank you for all the recent responses THO and Ed - great stuff. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 20 Jan 2013 14:45:00 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2013 : 20:29:04
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Hi again, all. You're very welcome.
BlackAce and Emma, Ed is soldiering on (juggling family, job tasks, and lore), and has sent me one more of the servants - - and also assured me you'll get them all, plus longer, deeper explorations of the family members, too, fairly soon.
Here's Ed, and here's:
Braelyn Lindlorn is young, energetic, and ambitious. Like most factors, he’s a glib “wheeler-dealer,” but is more honest and scrupulously loyal to his employer (Lord Nandos) than most factors, and can rightly be trusted with Raventree funds, cargoes, and chattels. (Most factors don’t dare misuse their employers’ coin, but do conduct side business of their own while traveling or trading on behalf of their employer, and habitually seek preferential prices and terms for their side businesses by combining orders and negotiations for their sidelines with the business of their employers; Lindlorn would never act in this manner, and carries on no side business.)
His hobby, encouraged by the Raventree business interests, is in enjoying rare, new, and exotic foods, of being a gourmand both publicly and privately. He’ll try anything (and has tried some truly disgusting things, over the years), and is forever battling a paunch earned and sustained by his love of food and drink.
He is otherwise a pleasant-looking brown-haired and blue-eyed man of average height and build, who dresses well but never expensively or impractically, and whose entertainment is continually learning more about the world and how he can make “the great ship that is House Raventree” more profitable and important within it—without necessarily gaining an ever-larger public profile along the way, because he’s noticed that those who get noticed too much by too many become targets, and their fates darken.
Lindlorn is given “travel coin” enough to see to his needs, including paid bedmates (Lord Nandos knows and approves of such expenditures, almost certainly because he believes it keeps Lindlorn out of greater mischief), and is quite content with his renumeration and his lifestyle. He regards the Raventrees as his family and the Raventowers servants as friends, but has little daily contact with them, because he’s so often outside the walls or even far away on business journeys. He believes having any romantic moments with any Raventree servant (or, for that matter, any Raventree) would be a gross professional error that could not end well.
So saith Ed. More later today/tonight, he promises.
love,
THO |
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NineCoronas
Acolyte
USA
15 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jan 2013 : 23:11:14
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Two questions:
1) Elven Children - It is often stated that they do not mature at the same rate as Humans. What I am wondering, is if this refers to their emotional and mental maturity, rather then physical. In humans, our bodies will mature much quicker than our minds do. Does the same hold true for Elves? I was also wondering if Elven children, during their formative years, learn things as quickly as Human children, or their Elven adult counterparts? Do they learn very slowly, or do they learn quickly and just keep practicing the same thing until they surpass reasonable (Human) expectations.
2) Lolth - I am playing a Neverwinter Nights server that lists "Depraved Elves" as worshippers of Lolth. While I haven't verified this in PnP, by their rules, a Surface Elf Cleric of Lolth is technically possible. Now, I am wondering if this is entirely erroneous in your canon or if in fact, this is plausible, and just extremely, extremely unlikely (I.E. a story no one has written yet =D). It would seem to me that corrupting a surface Elf to worship her would be something Lolth would indeed enjoy, and is plausible within the scope of her chaotic nature.
Cheers!
-NineCoronas
Edit: Edited for clarity. |
Edited by - NineCoronas on 21 Jan 2013 00:49:27 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 00:17:02
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Hi again, all. Good questions indeed, NineCoronas, and off they go to Ed.
Who has just sent me the rest of the Raventree servant writeups, for BlackAce and Emma, and here they are:
Shelaerra Blundfeather runs the household servants, seeing to the cleaning and washing, running repairs, and waiting upon the Raventrees and their guests. She oversees the deployment of staff (their shifts) and arranges their training, and is the go-between (between the steward and the head cook) to make certain the larders, pantries, and wine cellars are properly stocked at all times. Formerly the personal maid/dresser to Lady Perryn, she still serves in those roles when the need arises, but unless emergencies arise, is seldom to be seen by guests, preferring to bustle up and down the back stairs, pitching in with her maids briefly here and then rushing there. She is strict (though she doesn’t mind staff amusing themselves in idleness so long as the work is done before a need arises or is noticed), but is respected by those who work under her for her fairness and understanding. She’s no martinet, but can act like one to cow someone if need be (and is in fact an accomplished mimic who can do devastatingly good parodies of guests and others she’s met).
Shelaerra has tired eyes and the decaying remains of formerly striking beauty, her long (but usually gathered in a filigree net, or in a bun under a bonnet) raven-black hair almost all gone to gray - - and to white in an eye-catching lock down her left temple.
She can keep track of a dozen things in her head at once (and the times these things must be done, or the next step in something must be seen to), is calm under pressure, knows where everything in Raventowers is (so, for example, if a chair breaks, she knows without any search being necessary if there’s a matching chair or equivalent in the mansion, and exactly where it is).
Her hobbies include reading truly dirty salacious chapbooks (which she shares with her fellow servants if she judges this book or that one will entertain rather than disgusting or horrifying them), gambling on horse races, harbor boat races, and falconry competitions (which she keeps to strict “smallcoin” bets that she doesn’t mind losing, and so never runs into financial trouble over her betting), and daydreaming about how she’ll redecorate and renew Raventowers, room by room, tapestry by tapestry, and gewgaw by gewgaw.
Lady Perryn respects Shelaerra’s attentiveness so much that she sets aside funds, on an ongoing basis, to pay for Shelaerra’s continual recovering and refurbishing of all of the mansion furnishings, knowing that this keeps Raventowers looking up-to-date and splendid, with none of the “shabbiness in the far and darkest corners” that afflicts many noble mansions and villas in the city.
For her part, Shelaerra is well content with her position, her pay, and her life. She has seen enough of noble guests to know that she’d be less than happy working for most of them, and has no desire to depart Raventowers, or give any Raventree any pretext to “put her out” (the current city phrase “below stairs” in high households for being fired). She takes pride in keeping Raventowers a showpiece, the servants’ quarters as well as the great rooms, and although some of the servants jestingly call her “the Tempest” for her whirlwind entrances and the temper she can display when she thinks someone has blundered and so made a mess or extra work, and not owned up to it immediately and tried to clean up, she has their respect. The Raventrees all know they are lucky to have her because it entirely frees them from having to worry about the running or state of their homes - - and Lady Perryn, who regards Shelaerra as an old and true friend she can confide in, frankly loves her chatelaine (Shelaerra does indeed always wear a chatelaine: a girdle of keys, scissors, a hammer, pouches of nails and hooks, a sewing kit, hand scrub-brushes, a “tidy bag” for carrying trash, and other useful odds and ends).
Bardretha Gullwind is fatter than she’d like to be, because she’s one of those cooks who tastes constantly. She prides herself on her sauces, both savory and sweet, that make dishes departing the Raventowers kitchens (by hastening servant or by means of the dumbwaiter shaft that climbs the tallest tower to the Raventree bedchambers) really stand out.
“Barda,” as she’s usually called, hates getting hot, but kitchen work is hot work, so she’s a short-tempered, sharp-tongued head cook that the undercooks and scullery maids fear far more than they like. Usually to be found with a kerchief bound about her head to keep her sweat from dripping into the food, Bardretha is plump, has a long nose, stringy blonde hair that she used to dye but no longer dares to (because the dye started to run, and she was afraid it would get into food), and has a large bosom; she keeps handkerchiefs down her cleavage, but the kitchen staff tell all sorts of stories about what else she keeps down there.
Bardretha is a workaholic whose life is devoted to her work; she sometimes has to be coaxed to seek her bed, even when she’s swaying on her feet with weariness after working from one dawn right around to the next.
Bardretha has three big secrets: she loves gossip and watching men fight with swords, and she loves the embraces of both genders. On very rare occasions (twice or thrice a year at most) she and Shelaerra Blundfeather take to a bed together, for mutual comfort (because neither of them wants to take the time and trouble to seek other partners, outside Raventowers), but they take great care not to get caught doing this by anyone. Lady Perryn knows of their liaisons, but keeps their secret.
Bardretha doesn’t have to share her love of gossip with anyone to daily overhear all the chatter she wants to - - she long ago acted disinterested in gossip, but told her staff that if they wanted to talk in the kitchens, that was fine with her, so long as there was “no screaming or singing.” So she hears her fill while pretending not to hear or heed.
As for watching swordplay, she can indulge that in two ways: finding the right window to unobtrusively observe Lord Surakh at practice with his tutors, and at the right time of year, insisting on personally going and buying particular spices and mushrooms - - from shops that just happen to command a view of one of the practice terraces (outside the Castle, on the slopesof Mount Waterdeep) used by the City Watch and the City Guard to spar. She has by sheer luck witnessed two duels in the streets of Waterdeep, and they were thrills that she committed to memory, and can recall in vivid detail. She is fascinated by swords and the wielding of them, experiencing an almost sexual thrill when watching them - - and so, of course, she personally sees to the sharpening of all kitchen knives and other blades.
Vesmra Andalakh is a young, ambitious, spirited woman who has a beautiful body but a face disfigured by an overlong nose “as sharp as a swordblade” (to quote the chatelaine Shelaerra Blundfeather), and a prominent and cleft chin. She is very conscious of these “marrings” (as she calls them, though she was born with them, rather than receiving them as injuries), and when she accompanies Galinda on trips or to revels, insists on going masked or wearing a half-veil (over the lower half of her face, in the Calishite and Tashalan style). She and Galinda are “as thick as two giggling thieves” (as Lady Perryn once put it), and she tries to always have Galinda’s back, foreseeing trouble and preparing for it - - even to the extent of hiring some street muscle as short-term guards, on some occasions.
Vesmra has a hot temper, but also iron control; if she’s anywhere near any of the Raventrees when she loses her temper (unless alone with Galinda), the only outwardly visible mark of her ire will be her eyes flashing (Vesmra has emerald green eyes, red hair that’s a rich orange, and milk-white skin, and often dresses in emerald or dark green because she knows she looks superb in that hue; when angry, her emerald eyes literally turn the color of her hair).
Vesmra is very interested in so-called (by male nobles) “womanly things” such as fashion, hairdos, dancing, clothes, and adornments (filigree hair-sheaths, jewelry, cosmetics, and so on). She’s interested for their own sake, not just because she has to be good at such things to attend Galinda properly.
Over the years, Vesmra has become very skilled at applying cosmetics (to the point where she can conceal the blemishes of sickness, rashes, and insect bites) and as an emergency seamstress; the Raventrees proudly tell the tale of a long-ago revel where Galinda’s gown got trodden on by a clumsy male noble dance partner, and Vesmra whisked her behind a pillar, tore off her own gown, cut it to ribbons to create a row of panels descending the dress visible through the tear, sewed it all up in a trice, and sent Galinda back out onto the dance floor triumphantly establishing a new fashion on the spot. Vesmra loves the company and attentions of men, but insists on going masked when she seeks companionship, and to take lovers in the lower wards of the city far from where the nobles and their servants might see and recognize her; Galinda has taken to privately hiring certain adventurers to tail or even accompany Vesmra, to see that she comes to no harm (their presence, coupled with Vesmra’s mask, has led some in Dock Ward to think Vesmra herself is a “young noble lass come slumming”).
Vesmra has no ambitions beyond carrying on this life with Galinda “forever,” and is a happy, contented person who feels no need for possessions or coin, because her position furnishes her with all she wants and needs.
(When Galinda marries Regnet Amcathra, Vesmra will accompany Galinda to dwell with the Amcathras.)
Gahladar Dreth is a garrulous, weatherbeaten old retired ship captain who holds strong opinions about the declining quality of shipbuilding and the “best ways” to make yards, sails, hulls, and many nautical items large and small. He is among the best shipwrights in the Deep and widely respected; many have tried to hire him away from the Raventrees, but he likes his noble employers, and refuses to budge.
Dreth is short, thin, and has a battered, scarred face and “wild” gray-white (formerly brown), thin hair. He’s missing some teeth and so keeps his mouth shut most of the time, smiling and chuckling rather than laughing, and is a tireless worker who checks and rechecks everything done by the wrights who labor under his direction. Only the sturdiest and best-built ships leave his ways, and he’s a peerless master at judging what repairs an aging vessel needs (which masts, spars, ribs, and planks should be replaced, even if they look sound; he just “knows” what is inwardly weak).
Dreth has a very minor “wild talent.” He can smell magic (to him, it has a distinctive “sharp cheese” odour), both active enchantments and recent castings in an area, though he knows nothing more about magic—and doesn’t much want to. (He can smell a magic sword worn by someone passing him, even in a noisome Dock Ward street.)
“Dreth,” as he’s known to all, treats Surakh and Galinda more or less as his grandchildren, no matter how old they get, and he’s the one they run to for comfort and advice (as they always have). He is blunt and salty in his speech, but believes “honesty and plain speech are the best catches to land, now and forever.” His hobby is whittling, he likes a drink but never gets drunk, and his weakness is half-elven women of high agility and low morals (“ladies” or paid escorts, he treats them with equal respect). He has never married, and doesn’t want to.
So saith Ed, and I should note that this is the sort of lore Ed spins for all of his own adventures and the “home” Realms campaign—not to mention for TSR and Wizards of the Coast, over the years.
Ed will delve into the Raventrees themselves (and their relationships with each other) next time.
love,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 00:21:07
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Whoa-ho! Another e-mail just arrived from Ed, and accordingly, here's all the rest of the Raventree lore; to whit, the Raventrees themselves.
I've split it into two posts, just in case there's still a post size limit. Enjoy, BlackAce and Emma!
So here we go . . .
In the year 1368 DR, House Raventree of Waterdeep consists of Lord Nandos Thornyn Mralabrar Raventree, head of the family, his wife Lady Perryn Klathra Alandra Raventree (née Nesher; don’t be misled by the catch-all word “consort” used in the CoS box; she is indeed the formally-wed wife of Nandos), and their two children: Lord Surakh Valandros Thornyn Raventree (the eldest and heir) and Galinda Nimune Alandra Raventree.
There is also a cousin, Dorophin Raventree (CG male Tethyrian human aristocrat7/expert4/fighter2), the only son of Galaskor Raventree, the deceased younger (and only) brother of Lord Nandos. Dorophin grew up in Athkatla, visiting Waterdeep rarely with his parents, and since both of them perished (his Athkatlan-born mother Lalrune in 1356 DR, of winterchill, and his father in 1360 DR, of a massive infection following beast-bites suffered during a forest hunt) he hasn’t been seen in Waterdeep, nor had any contact with his Waterdhavian kin. (Dorophin has never been “close” to the Raventrees of Waterdeep, but there is no hatred - - nor any friction or break, ever - - between him and them, nor was there between Galaskor and the Waterdhavian Raventrees. Galaskor simply chose Athkatla and his wife’s family over Waterdeep and his kin, and they drifted out of each other’s lives.)
Lord Nandos (LG male Tethyrian human aristocrat14/expert8) is a grave, firm, dignified nobleman, energetic in business and willing to do his civic duty but of the belief that Waterdeep’s nobles should neither run the city nor suffer guilds, priesthoods, or “commoners banded together to feign importance they have not earned” to do so; rather, the nobility should support Piergeiron and his officials to resist change and uphold order and authority - - for the “daily seawind” (status quo) is good, and should be maintained for the city to continue to flourish - - and to be an example to commoners of what they can achieve in time, by financial success, “nobility of action and purpose,” and long service to their city (by which is meant: act noble but not haughty, keep your nose clean, and perhaps, eight or nine generations from now, you may be ennobled, if the city needs more nobles).
Lord Nandos inherited the family shipbuilding business from his flamboyant and strikingly successful father Ehrendarr and his stern and austere grandfather Thaland, and although both are long dead and gone, he secretly believes they still watch over his life and performance. He conducts himself and the family business concerns so as to please and impress them (that is, he does what he believes they would have approved of), and otherwise does what he thinks is “proper” for a “proper noble” to do - - that is, a dignified, socially responsible noble, not a loudly flamboyant “misbehaving” noble. If the “proper” thing is to attend this revel or that gathering or ceremony, that’s what he does; if at a social gathering things get out of hand (nobles misbehave), Lord Nandos fades into the background or withdraws into another room to keep company with other “proper” nobles, or if need be departs altogether. As he puts it, “A lord is never discomfited, nor betrays his station - - because a lord never indulges in behaviour that betrays, nor that he feels embarrassed about.”
Lord Nandos does not see success or striving in business as improper for a noble. He considers idle nobles “wastrels” (if young) and “deadwood and dross” (if old enough to know better). As he says, “To deserve your golden charger and the food you eat off it daily, you must seek diligently to advance both the lives of commoners and your own achievements and worth. If Waterdeep is no better as a result of your life, when you die, than you do not deserve to have lived at all, let alone enjoyed the privileges of nobility.”
It should be noted that Lord Nandos is not the sort of autocrat or prig given to making such observations publicly or often; he does so only in response to questions or the stated opinions of others, and believes in a style of briefly-murmured guidance (of look and private comment) when dealing with family, servants, and business employees.
Lady Perryn (NG female Tethyrian human aristocrat 12/expert6) is one of the quieter and more dignified, “proper” sort of noblewomen, not given to flamboyant behaviour, public rudeness, nor loud or firm speech. She is darkly beautiful, with long, blue-black hair, a slender and rangy figure, graceful movement, large dark blue eyes, and high cheekbones; the passing years have scarcely aged her visibly at all, and she still draws the gaze of many a man upon entering a room, or at first glimpse.
The uninformed often conclude that she is a doormat, her husband’s meek servant, but in truth she “rules him with a glance” when she feels the need - -which isn’t often. Lady Perryn is very tolerant, slow to anger, and firmly believes that being noble is to have much personal freedom, and she must and should respect the freedom of others to speak, act, and pursue follies as they please - - until they go too far.
She feels she has the final word (or veto) over family decisions, whereas her husband has the freedom to make all the smaller, daily decisions, and conduct himself as if he has absolute freedom, until she reminds him of a boundary or gives him a flat “no.”
Lady Perryn also believes her children must and should be free to make their own mistakes, so they can grow freely and “become themselves” (rather than their parents’ puppets, or worse yet, two-faced, wearing behavioural masks when under their parents’ eyes and acting as quite different people when on their own).
However, when they were younger, she reared them strictly and took a large hand in their tutelage rather than leaving much of it to nurses or tutors (as many other Waterdhavian nobles do). She still chides or even gives them orders in public without hesitation when she thinks they’ve been discourteous, and holds a curious double standard: she’s less liable to judge their actions, as she is the style in which they carry those actions out (“bed three at once in front of us all if you must, dear, but there’s no need to be impertinent while doing so”). She is also capable of working harder than the burliest servant, day and night for several days and nights on end, when the need arises (every year as the annual costume ball nears, and preparations start to go awry, for instance), and behind her quiet courtesy is a steely resolve. Where Lord Nandos might shrug and abandon some slight or swindle against the Raventrees as “the knocks of business,” Lady Perryn will neither forgive nor forget, and will set herself with unfailing patience to get even.
Lord Surakh (LG male Tethyrian human aristocrat6/fighter3) spent his rebellious youth being a haughty prig, the sort of stiff, sneering noble that commoners loathe, loudly claiming his precedence and privileges, and challenging his peers to “confrontations of honor” (unarmed duels that are usually loud public debates that tend to slide swiftly into tradings of florid insults; many older nobles describe them as “the younglings parading their immaturity before all”).
He has mellowed somewhat since, and has largely set aside his public airs and rudenesses, but still has a short temper with fools and the dishonest, and will speak sharply to anyone he considers wrong, acting improperly, or “being a fool” (which unfortunately often just means they hold an opinion contrary to his own). Yet he is ashamed of his former self, and working hard on his patience and curbing his tongue - - so he’s both slower to explode and more liable to bite back words better left unsaid.
Trained to the sword, armored combat, and “riding to the lance,” Surakh is a hopeless archer and dislikes hawking (both thanks to his unadmitted poor long-distance eyesight).
The building and outfitting of ships has always bored him, but he no longer flings his boredom in his father’s face. He is increasingly interested in merchant shipping (what one can do with ships, rather than the making of them); expanding the family trading in rare foods (into spirits); and new ways of combining and packaging foods to snare the interest of Waterdhavians and so increase sales, and his father has seen this and stopped trying to force Surakh into being his daily understudy, and started encouraging him, in small ways (i.e. with limited funds), to try his hand at ship cargoes and trading in new food and drink wares.
Surakh also seems to be gaining a sense of humour, and discovering a gift for mocking mimicry, as much to his own surprise as the astonishment of others.
Lady Galinda (CG female Tethyrian human aristocrat5/expert2) is at this time a leading, desirable socialite (her marriage to Regnet Amcathra is still some years off; my notes have the wedding on 11th Marpenoth, 1371 DR, and of course your campaign need not follow published Realmslore, which tells us that by the time of the City of Splendors: Waterdeep sourcebook, she has borne Regnet two sons).
She is bold, flirtatious, and at the forefront of fashion and local social “style,” hosting Waterdeep’s annual costume ball, indulging in much gossip and rumormongering, and waging an ongoing social war with her despised rival Myrna Cassalanter.
Galinda is husky-voiced, apt to be dressed in the latest expensive fashions, and is proud of her body, hesitating not at all to display it to best advantage. She has her mother’s slender build, grace, large eyes and high cheekbones, though her figure is slightly more lush than Lady Perryn’s.
Like almost all Waterdhavian nobles of her generation and circle at this time, romance and sex are casual everyday pursuits to Galinda; in matters of the heart (or loins) she knows little loyalty nor stable relationships (this casual approach means bitter breakups are few; the same circle of young nobles hook up, swap partners, drift apart, come together for a brief fling again, and so on, with no shunning and few hard feelings). This doesn’t mean individual nobles don’t pine for other individual nobles; in 1368 DR, Alroy Adarbrent (heir of House Adarbrent) is smitten with Galinda, though Lord Royus Adarbrent (head of that house) disapproves of the Raventrees and doesn’t want his son to ever wed Galinda (because, in the elder Lord Adarbrent’s view, the Raventrees are a “junior” noble family, who are “jumped up, once-wealthy commoners, not true nobility,” and because they don’t behave like “proper” nobles right now - - meaning that the Raventrees are active in business, rather than being so rich that they can live in idleness, their factors and servants administering the rents from their vst holdings, and avoiding handling and concerning themselves with “low, common coin and the dealings done to grasp ever more of it;” to Adarbrent, “proper” nobles don’t concern themselves with money, and don’t have to because they’re so wealthy - - whereas the Raventrees are clearly, albeit successfully, still directly involved in their longtime business concerns of shipbuilding and purveying rare foods [“exotic foodstuffs” is the Waterdhavian mercantile term]). Regnet Amcathra and Bedelder Margaster are also seriously interested in Galinda, and dozens of their fellow “young bucks” [or more politely, “young blades”] among the nobility are more than casually interested in her; she’s considered a prize, the best - - or, if your tastes vary, among the best three or four - - of the young and unattached female nobles).
Like her older brother, Galinda has “settled down” somewhat from her wildest younger days, shifting from CN to CG and mellowing from headstrong, dawn-to-dusk catty fighting with rival young female nobles and seducing every young male noble who came within reach to more self-confident, drawling, at ease conquests and social trouncings. Thanks to human nature, this has made her more desirable to other nobles, not less (and she’s now catching the eyes of older male nobles, who hitherto dismissed her as “yet another emptyheaded, burstingly-full-of-herself young brat”).
. . . so saith Ed, and I'll post the second bit straightaway (the relationships between them). This ought to be enough for a campaign . . .
love,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 00:22:24
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And here, as promised, is Ed again . . .
So as the Year of the Banner (1368 DR) begins, the relationships within the Raventree family are as follows:
Nandos is growing more affectionate toward, and in love with, his wife, rather than less, and wants to spend more time with her. He even hopes to have more children with her - - or at least spend a lot of pleasant time trying. He believes she is one of the wisest women in Waterdeep or anywhere, and thinks that for years he didn’t fully appreciate the depths of her wisdom, not to mention her deft manipulation of him and other nobles they have dealings with.
Nandos is increasingly pleased with both of his children (Surakh more than Galinda, because he views Surakh has “achieved more in this wise” and Surakh will enrich the family coffers more by doing so, whereas Galinda seems to be perfecting spending more from them) because they are both, in his eyes, improving so much from their wilder, younger selves. “Maturing, but not matured.”
They both, of course, have a long way to go - - and the sooner Galinda stops soiling herself by sleeping with half the city, or acting as if she is, the better. For the Raventree name as well as for herself. Still, all younglings have to go through their wild days, and if their parents clamp down too hard or in the wrong ways, things will get worse, not better. Surakh at least can be spoken to man-to-man, with plenty of “this is what worked for me” and “when you’re in charge of this, son, you’ll need to know” - - but Nandos is at something of a loss as to how to even speak to his daughter. It all too easily slides into the sort of banter, as she teases him, that will sound like flirtation to any eavesdropper! And, damn, she’s a lovely girl, though still an emptyheaded little chit not worth a ninth of her mother. Why do women have to be so silly, so different? He himself has never dreamed of measuring his own worth by the number of people he can bed, or verbally trounce in public; why do such things matter to the womenfolk?
Perryn loves her husband deeply, and is grateful that he seems to be warming to her increasingly in recent months, not concentrating wholly on business and the pride and wealth of the Raventrees whilst taking his wife for granted, as part of the furniture. She has always admired his intellect, his morals, his successes, and his private tenderness, and is thrilled that he now seems to see her worth.
There has been some stiff awkwardness between Perryn and her son in recent years, particularly when she tried to discipline or influence him when she considered (by the gods, all Waterdeep considered) he was being the worst sort of conceited, rude prig, and he still exasperates her all too often with his “I’m a man and the heir, so all should bow before me, because soon I’ll be head of the house, and in the meantime I’m a younger, better version of my father, so bow down accordingly” act - - but he’s finally growing up and learning some sense and at least heading in the right direction. There’s hope for him yet, and at last she can dare to gently jest with him and show him love and tenderness, where before he seemingly had no sense of humour, and loudly dismissed all tendernesses as “womens’ foolishness” and “manipulative embraces and tears and honeyed false words.” She’ll work hard at forging a warmer relationship between them, and still try to gently steer him into being the truly noble man he can be.
Perryn’s daughter has always exasperated her, too, but their relationship has been far more complicated than her dealings with her son, because although Perryn despairs of Galinda’s more wanton ways and “overconfident rudenesses and frivolities,” they have always been close, have giggled together and shared confidences on the rare occasions when they have both dared to let down their guards and masks sufficiently - - and because Perryn has always secretly admired her daughter for openly and publicly doing all the wild things Perryn had wanted to, but that she “just couldn’t” because a “proper noble doesn’t do such things.” Perryn genuinely admires the hard work that Galinda puts in hosting the costume ball, and even more, admires the name and importance her daughter has built for herself among noble circles (and, through the echoes of that, in the wider city). Folk high and low respect Galinda’s fashion sense and style, gossip about her latest put-down or amorous frolic, and pay attention to her. Whereas her mother is left in shadow, ignored or taken for granted. Now, perhaps Galinda will someday start to put that influence to use in truly making Waterdeep a better place, and fulfill her bright promise. In the meantime, Perryn wants to get closer to her daughter - - to vicariously enjoy all the sheer fun of Galinda’s social whirl, to keep and cherish someone who is becoming a real friend at last, and to deepen whatever influence she has over her daughter, so as to be able to steer her through the inevitable shoals ahead (of rising too high and getting entangled in serious feuds or in politics far over her head, and of dealing with the wooing that is daily coming her way, some of it calculated and uncaring for her personally, but only for the family wealth and reputation).
Surakh used to consider his father a stodgy, overbearing, humourless fool, and his mother a doormat who lost her temper behind closed doors and tyrannized his father when she did, but otherwise cared what other nobles thought above all else, and so played the “perfect dutiful noble wife” role to the hilt.
In other words, his father deserved any bad treatment he got, but his mother was a “weak woman” incapable of holding her own in public. He now realizes he was very wrong about both of them, and admires his father’s drive (and forbearance with both of his children) and his mother’s iron determination and yet manner of hiding it, manipulating rather than using her tongue like a lash and her deeds like a brutal gauntlet.
Surakh formerly despised his sister as a wanton fool who disgraced the family name and was overly familiar with “just anyone, no matter how lowly.” She was family and so he was duty bound to rescue her from her worst scrapes and follies, but she was by no means an ornament of the Raventrees or even competent to do much of anything, let alone represent the family or handle any of its affairs. She was less emptyheaded and frivolous than some of their circle of nobles, but that wasn’t saying much.
Now, Surakh is grudgingly acknowledging to himself (never explicitly to Galinda, though his manner towards her has become far more polite, easygoing, and supportive, and she can obviously tell his attitude has changed) that his sister does very well for herself socially, sways the opinions and fashions of other nobles, and even treats some matriarchs and patriarchs as equals—and gets treated by them as an equal. In other words, these others see her as formidable and mature, but her older brother Surakh as immature and foolish. Something he’s determined to change by watching his sister and learning from her, and at the same time getting closer to her and showing that to others.
Galinda likes to hide the fact that she’s a shrewd judge of people from the world (and especially her family), but she knows full well - - and with complete accuracy - - what her parents and her brother think of her, and how they’re trying to deal with her.
For her part, she thinks her father is inevitably as hidebound and self-limited as all nobles of his generation, but is the finest man she knows. His obvious fears that she’ll settle on someone truly unsuitable are unfounded, because there is no way before all the Watching Gods that she will settle for anyone not as fine as her father - - and although she enjoys friendships and more with both sexes, she needs men, and wants a husband. Someday. On her terms. She admires Nandos as a businessman, as the head of a noble house, and as a person. He works harder than any two guild members, and probably harder than any random group of five or six. She can’t resist teasing him, though, and themore this mkes him uncomfortable, the more it goads her to do more of it.
Her mother is the woman she can never be - - the perfect “old school” noble wife (quiet, dutiful, forever proper and “doing the right thing”). Yet her mother is no monster, because Galinda can see she achieves this by being almost the perfect actress, not because it’s who her mother really is. Perryn is a master manipulator of her family and the servants because she understands people so well, and can say and do what will move them in the direction she wants them moved, and make them ever more loyal to the Raventrees and to her own aims. Galinda despairs of ever being that effective, that good a noble - - because she herself just doesn’t have the patience for the whole act, and doesn’t want to be the quiet dutiful overlooked consort, when she can be the center of attention and have people eager to be with her, and fall in with her plans. Deep down, she knows her mother sees right through her - - and yet, Perryn loves her and is still working hard to steer her without trying to boss her . . . and Galinda loves and cherishes her for that. Someday soon, her mother just might unwind enough, or consider that Galinda has grown up enough, that the two of them can fall into the warm, close, easy friendship Perryn so obviously yearns for. Then they can at last be bosom friends, enjoying the unfolding world together. Ah, it will be good when her mother finally puts away her disapproval!
Surakh, now, isn’t as detestable and constantly exasperating as he used to be. He’s actually starting to have a little self-confidence and humour, and is trying to mend fences with his little sister and cultivate a real friendship. He now wants to be seen in her company, supports her views and deeds, and is generally trying to be a decent brother. Which makes him tolerable, at least, though he left it very, very late to start trying to become a human being rather than the thespians’ caricature of a rude and overbearingly highnosed noble. Yet much of “the new Surakh” is still an act, not the true man himself. He still thinks boys are superior to girls, the heir and eldest can and should lord it over younger siblings (lifelong), and that others should leap to defer to nobles or expect “rightfully scornful” treatment. He’s not loudly saying such things the way he used to, but hasn’t privately let go of the beliefs yet, and until he does, she’ll be as friendly as she can (so as to try to change him), but dare not trust him.
And there you have it; so saith Ed. More than enough of a foundation for Downton Abbey-style play, I’d say. Ed hopes this is useful, and wants you to by all means ask followups, and we both want to hear hints of how play unfolds . . .
love,
THO
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Razz
Senior Scribe
USA
749 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 00:39:30
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Two questions I have for Ed is can we look forward to another "Elminster's Forgotten Realms" book in the near future? I feel the teases at the end of that book might be driving up false hope for me and everyone else (secret doppleganger kingdoms?!) since we fear we may not come to see such work come to the light of day with, well...the way WotC manages things concerning everything D&D, especially the Realms.
My 2nd question is will we see more "Volo's Guides"? Several mentioned in an FR product had me hopeful he will return with "Guide to the Bloodstone Lands" and "Guide to the Savage Coast" and other locales hardly touched upon. |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 01:02:19
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Hi again, everyone.
Razz, Ed doesn't have the power to make products happen; he can only plead (like the rest of us  ) and hope - - and if a future product does get approved, he almost always can't tell us about it beforehand.
I can tell you that Ed would be VERY eager to both of those possible books you described in your post. We'll just have to see (Ed's a very busy guy, and I happen to know he's got three novels on the go right now).
NineCoronas, my PM inbox is full, and the server software won't let me reply to you until I empty it, so this is just to let you know: message received, thank you, revisions sent on!
And apropos of the comment I just made about Ed being busy, the man is indefatigable, it seems. Here's ANOTHER lore reply from his keyboard (and a double one, at that):
xaeyruudh recently asked: “What are the names of the Ice Lakes shown on a few maps north of Luskan and west of the Black Raven river? Curiosity struck, and I (and more notably Markus) don't see them named anywhere. Many thanks!”
Ed replies:
The Fonstad Atlas of the Realms is the best source I have access to (I can’t look at the later e-Atlas at the moment), and reproduces my original maps pretty well. None of the maps, including my “overall” map, show the tiniest, pond-sized lakes, only the five largest ones, so feel free to add as many of these smaller sort as you need in play. All of them will of course have frigid waters and beautiful “blue” hues.
All of the Ice Lakes have both local names (used by the barbarians and goblinkin, and of great antiquity - - and so, linguistic origins lost to us) and “outlander” names bestowed by prospectors from warmer, more southerly lands.
The westernmost of the two smallest and most northerly of the five lakes is Derthym, and its outland name is Longknife Lake (after Longknife, a long-ago human trapper who dwelt on its shores).
The easternmost of the small northerly pair is Belardym, known to outlanders as Tynkur’s Fist (after a halfing adventurer who won a fistfight here over battle-spoils centuries back, but who was later slain for that same loot; his spirit is said to haunt the shores of the lake).
Below this pair of lakes is the largest of the Ice Lakes. Locally, it is Rarghraum, and is called Ondran’s Grave by outlanders, after the warrior-adventurer Ondran, who died in a heroic last stand fighting orcs here centuries ago, drowning (and taking an orc with him, in a death-grip) after being wounded repeatedly by the warband of orcs he almost singlehandedly wiped out.
To the west of the largest Ice Lake is a round-ish lake (with a small tongue or arm of water jutting south from the western end of its southern shore) . It has several islands, BTW, and is known as Loroloth locally, and Daern’s Copper Camp to outlanders (Daern was a long-ago miner, who found copper on the surface west of the lake; the fortunate can still find it today, but are called “the fortunate” if they survive the many monsters that lair and prowl in the area).
Southeast of Loroloth and southwest of Rarghraum is the most southerly of the Ice Lakes. It is known locally as Antaerth, and its outland name is Saeriphahra’s Mirror (after a beautiful half-elf pirate who buried her treasure within sight of it, and was known to use it as her looking-glass).
Oh, and while I’m at it, Jeremy Grenemyer asked where Dardolphin Isle is located. Your guess, xaeyruudh, is correct: it’s one of the smaller, hitherto-unnamed-in-published-lore islands of the Nelanther (in the southeastern most cluster of islets). Will someone please post this in the right thread, so Jeremy sees it?
So saith Ed, and I'll take care of that reposting right now. Ah, it's a good day for lore of the Realms we love . . .
love to all,
THO |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 01:28:46
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It is a good day for lore, many thanks! And an extra thank you, Ed, for the note that the Atlas matches up well with your original maps. I had assumed as much, but it's good to know for sure. The cover of my atlas just fell off a few days ago, despite being taped several years ago to stave off that event. It's a much-used and well-loved reference.
and Markus:  |
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BlackAce
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
358 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 09:36:16
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And once again Emma asks me to pass on her thanks and gratitude to Ed and Lady Hooded One for taking time to answer her questions so thoroughly.
She's got a big happy grin on her face this morning. (Not of my doing, damn it!)
I believe they're using Obsidian Portal or maybe a private Facebook group, but I'll be sure to post updates here on what they're up to. |
Edited by - BlackAce on 22 Jan 2013 13:13:41 |
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Marco Volo
Learned Scribe
France
204 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 10:18:27
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Hi Ed and THO !
I've a question about how a Waterdeep-based group of adventurers could gain information about Skullport ?
Here's my situation : PCs have found a scroll where the word "Skullport" is written in a mini-dungeon and have assumed it's a location, and are going to investigate the city to found exactly "what is Skullport" (and probably going there).
To investigate, the bard will go to the New Olamn's librairy.
An other PC to the Oghma's librairy where he knows a clerc.
Others are going to ask commoners, merchants, nobles...
But "who knows what" about a location like Skullport ? I assumed a majority of nobles knows but won't tell. Am I right ?
(By the way thanks both of you for the GREAT lore about the Raventrees). |
Edited by - Marco Volo on 21 Jan 2013 10:19:56 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 14:17:12
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Thank you so much for all the new lore, Ed & THO. I had decided to take a hiatus from FR mapping, but this has drawn me back in... your a wiley one, Mr.Greenwood. 
And since I need to ask a question, here is a map of Mintarn taken from the FRIA (it matches up very well to the Fonstad map, and I just wanted you to see what has already been named). When you get the chance (no rush), if you could provide names for those as well.
Are the two islands to the south part of Mintarn? They don't seem to be a part of the Moonshaes. Also, whats with the Citadel of the Seven Seas? I don't see that on any other map (something tells me I should be asking Eric about that). Take your time with these - I am amazed you have the time to answer anything ATM. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 21 Jan 2013 14:18:56 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 16:08:56
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Hi again, all.
From my notes, Markustay, I can name those two southernmost islands on your map, and tell you a LITTLE about them. As it happens, I'm quoting Ed directly here:
The larger and more northerly island is called Ammargal, and is "part of" Mintarn in that they garrison it and graze a large herd of sheep (to provide wool and meat for the folk of Mintarn) there, slaughtering any predators (short of dragons) that show up to try to dine on them. Ammargal has a very narrow inlet and dock on its southeastern shore, dangerous to use at the best of times, and a good anchorage and beach on its northern shore. Perhaps twenty people dwell on Ammargal, but save during storms and the icy depths of winter, ships from Mintarn visit it almost daily (trawling for fish on both legs of the out-and-back voyage). Ammargal is like a bowl tilted so its northern lip is submerged in the sea, but the rest of the rim thrusts up in continuous rocky ridges, guarding verdant meadows (and even a small forest, running along the inside of the southern run of the ridge) within their ring.
The smaller and more southerly island is a great plug of rock rising out of the sea (it looks like just what it is: the pointed top of a submerged mountain), and is known as Rorn Rock. It shelters Ammargal from the worst - - but rare - - local winds that blow north (as opposed to the prevailing winds that blow out of the northwest). Rorn Rock is pierced by several sea-caves, hollowed out by the waves over centuries (probably breaking through to inner caverns left empty when lava either ebbed back down into the depths, or erupted out of them), and of course there are the usual legends of both morkoth lairing here and pirates stealing into the caves in small skiffs to conceal treasures within. Rorn Rock is uninhabited, with two exceptions: millions of seabirds have their rookeries atop it, and from time to time kidnapped royalty and other "political prisoners" (individuals certain people want off the scene, but don't want to slay outright because they might come in useful later, so mainly royalty and noble heirs) get marooned there, to live on seabirds and their eggs, eking out a hard existence on the cold and windswept rock.
Rorn Rock is named for Thalaumarorn, better known to humans as "Old Rorn," a gigantic dragon of long ago (some say red, some say black), who terrorized the Sword Coast and the seas in this vicinity, fearlessly attacking anything (the tales say he fought and slaughtered dragon turtles, and regularly plunged beneath the waves like a fish-hunting seabird to snatch aquatic prey). Rorn Rock was his lair, and Rorn Rock was where he perished, blown apart by the spells of a fell human wizard who came hunting his treasure, when Rorn was old and enfeebled. That treasure, the tales insist, was never found - - and the wizard died that day when Rorn's riven body fell out of the skies and crushed the wizard to red pulp and gore on the rocks.
Rorn's skull was long ago recovered by the folk of Mintarn; it's the one that hangs above the high seat in the great hall there, and alchemists and treasure-hunters have down the years borne away most of the dragon's other bones.
Among the clergy of Umberlee, there is a belief that Rorn Rock hides a great and holy secret - - but just what that secret is, none can say; of it, the Wet Goddess will not speak, coldly rebuking all who dare ask.
So saith Ed, Creator of the Sandbox.
love,
THO
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2013 : 18:23:33
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Hi again, all.
Markustay, I just came across one of my own notes, and the small northernmost island on that FRIA detail map you linked to is called "Windstorm Isle."
love,
THO |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 01:24:32
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
And there you have it; so saith Ed. More than enough of a foundation for Downton Abbey-style play, I’d say. Ed hopes this is useful, and wants you to by all means ask followups, and we both want to hear hints of how play unfolds . . .
love,
THO
The Lady K is quickly nudging for me to immediately put something like this together for our next Realms campaign.
As we're both fans of the show, it shouldn't be too difficult to add a little Realms-seasoning.
...
Do you have any further suggestions for a Downton Abbey-esque series in the FORGOTTEN REALMS, Ed? |
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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rodrigoalcanza
Seeker
Brazil
67 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 03:45:34
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Hello!
I would like the help of Ed, or The Hooded One, about these two questions:
1-How did the mages (wizards, sorcerers, bard ...) and priests (clerics, druids, rangers ...) understand the spell levels. For example, in the game mechanics, the sleep spell is 1st level and a fireball is 3rd level. But I know it's in the rules of the game. What does this mean in the Realms? As its inhabitants understand the differences in the complexity of magic?
2-In general terms how are the laws of possession of weapons and armor in towns, villages and other habitations in Faerûn? Basically, I just found this reply in the kingdom of Cormyr. But how that works possession of weapons and armor in Dalelands, for example? And in other parts of Faerûn? I think about how these laws could be, because adventurers tend to go with many types of weapons, some quite large with a greataxe. I imagine that the authorities of these places should have some concern about that.
Excuse my English!
Thanks! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 03:49:53
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Hi again, all.
Sage, I got a swift reply from Ed on this one! Here ypu go:
Heh. Well, it depends. :}
In this case, it depends on the constraints/atmosphere you'd like to establish. If you use the Raventrees or any Waterdhavian noble family IN WATERDEEP (or a Suzail-based Cormyrean noble family in Suzail) you've got the bustle of the city, can drag in all manner of commoners and their doings and scores of other nobles, and so on - - but it's a different dynamic than the essentially country house-based action of Downton Abbey.
So you MIGHT want to have the Raventrees at their country estate (which is entirely undetailed in published lore, so feel free to swipe any map/plan/description of any English castle or stately home, extant or vanished, to use), having retreated there because disease is sweeping the city, or they've gone into seclusion to deal with a family crisis (a claim on the family property from Dorophin Raventree, say, which MUST be false because Dorophin has contacted them in different handwriting, from a different address, to say he's coming to visit - - but when "Dorophin" arrives, is it really him? Or an impostor? Or for quite another crisis: Lord Nandos accused of fathering the children of another noble, and challenged to a duel - - but also, assassination attempts on him begin, so to escape them he hustles the family out of the Deep [[or do both, if you're feeling especially cruel/lively]]). The crisis situation has two major drawbacks: it forces change on family realtionships, if not family members, and it works against the great fun we see in so many English Country House murder mysteries: the romances, bickerings, jewel (or snuffbox, ahem) robberies, and all of that associated with having a country estate full of an odd assortment of guests (most or all of them also noble) as well as the family.
The house itself can have secrets that lead to a treasure hunt or even a dungeon underneath it - - elements a little harder to pull off in Waterdeep, with its established sewer system and infamous vast dungeon under it. You can also have eccentric "rustics," the country servants, poachers, and villager/neighboring farmers, who can be almost anyone (from the inevitable doppelgangers in disguise and former pirates, adventurers, and outlaws living under assumed names, to undercover agents for various sinister organizations such as the Zhents, Red Wizards, and so on).
Or you can stay in the city and play up the revels, social whirl, and sword-duels in taverns and private clubs . . .
Just don't forget the possibilities of a Lady Bracknell. ;}
So saith Ed, referencing Wilde's play The Importance Of Being Ernest at the end, there.
Ed and I both hope these comments are of some help!
love,
THO
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Xar Zarath
Senior Scribe
Malaysia
552 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 04:24:15
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Hi Ed and THO, I dont know if i have asked this question before, if so i humbly apologize, if not then here goes,
After the events in the 3rd book of the Knights of Myth Drannor trilogy, I know that Old Ghost is now in Amaukran the Sword that Never Sleeps, what happened to him? Is he still around after the Spellplague?
And on another note, reading bits and pieces about Hasperdan has got me spooked, like his reference to being patient but somehow not a "man" and of course now i read that he is dead, is he though? And what was Hasperdan anyway? |
Everything ends where it begins. Period.
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 18:38:52
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Hi again, all.
Xar Zarath, I happen to know that both the full fates of Old Ghost and Hesperdan, and their true natures, are things Ed intends to reveal in future Realms fiction . . . not here and now. Sorry.
love,
THO |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 19:30:25
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Once again, thank you for taking such wonderful notes THO - great stuff.
Your second-to-last response got me thinking - is being "a Zhent" actually illegal in Cormyr?
I mean, suppose a merchant/traveling trader from Zhentil Keep came to town, and for all intents and purposes just seemed a normal guy doing business, and then moving on (as merchants are wont to do)... is that perfectly okay? Do people of 'Zhentish (or Moonsea) persuasion' get 'picked-on' in anyway? Do they have to jump through more hoops just to conduct normal business?
Here's my problem with this - at its core Zhentil Keep is a mercantile empire (YES, with lots and lots of layers of 'other stuff'). It seems to me that it is actually counter-productive to be from Zhentil Keep if you wanted to conduct 'honest' business elsewhere in the Realms. If you had the city's stamp on your goods, that would be asking for them all to get torn open and ripped apart. Plus, most folks wouldn't want to deal with you at all.
Or do I have the wrong impression here?  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 22 Jan 2013 19:32:09 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 19:47:49
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| I don't personally imagine any serious discrimination against Zhents from people who openly welcome Red Wizards. Those fools. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3741 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 22:18:29
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-The back story of a priest of Torm of mine involves him being orphaned as a youth, and shortly being 'adopted' by a Tormish paladin and initiated into the faith. I've envisioned, in the interim between becoming a full blown priest and the character joining the party, that he did a lot of missionary work in the Moonsea/Sembia/Dales/Cormyr regions involving fellow orphans and orphanages. Fellow priests/priestess' of the Triad were also involved, as were priests/priestess' of Lathander. I gave the 2e Faiths and Avatars book a quick scanning, but really couldn't think of any other deities that would be involved in those kinds of things. So, asides from the chuches of Torm, Tyr, Ilmater and Lathander, what other deities and churches (if any) would be involved in orphanage work and the like in that region?
-And, as a corollary, are there any other temples of Torm that are noteworthy in that area, asides for the Church of Torm's Coming (Tantras)? |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerûn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerûn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
Edited by - Lord Karsus on 22 Jan 2013 22:23:19 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2013 : 01:14:38
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Some commentary: In the Golarion/Pathfinder setting, the Church of Asmodeus runs orphanages.
They make such excellent disciples when trained young. 
I know it isn't FR-specific (even though Asmodeus is canon to the Realms in 4e), but I just thought it was an interesting take, and something to think about (and apply to other settings).
And now I have this idea for Talona orphans, called 'plaguerunts'. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 23 Jan 2013 01:16:46 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2013 : 01:29:10
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Hi again, all.
Sage, I got a swift reply from Ed on this one! Here ypu go:
Heh. Well, it depends. :}
In this case, it depends on the constraints/atmosphere you'd like to establish. If you use the Raventrees or any Waterdhavian noble family IN WATERDEEP (or a Suzail-based Cormyrean noble family in Suzail) you've got the bustle of the city, can drag in all manner of commoners and their doings and scores of other nobles, and so on - - but it's a different dynamic than the essentially country house-based action of Downton Abbey.
So you MIGHT want to have the Raventrees at their country estate (which is entirely undetailed in published lore, so feel free to swipe any map/plan/description of any English castle or stately home, extant or vanished, to use), having retreated there because disease is sweeping the city, or they've gone into seclusion to deal with a family crisis (a claim on the family property from Dorophin Raventree, say, which MUST be false because Dorophin has contacted them in different handwriting, from a different address, to say he's coming to visit - - but when "Dorophin" arrives, is it really him? Or an impostor? Or for quite another crisis: Lord Nandos accused of fathering the children of another noble, and challenged to a duel - - but also, assassination attempts on him begin, so to escape them he hustles the family out of the Deep [[or do both, if you're feeling especially cruel/lively]]). The crisis situation has two major drawbacks: it forces change on family realtionships, if not family members, and it works against the great fun we see in so many English Country House murder mysteries: the romances, bickerings, jewel (or snuffbox, ahem) robberies, and all of that associated with having a country estate full of an odd assortment of guests (most or all of them also noble) as well as the family.
The house itself can have secrets that lead to a treasure hunt or even a dungeon underneath it - - elements a little harder to pull off in Waterdeep, with its established sewer system and infamous vast dungeon under it. You can also have eccentric "rustics," the country servants, poachers, and villager/neighboring farmers, who can be almost anyone (from the inevitable doppelgangers in disguise and former pirates, adventurers, and outlaws living under assumed names, to undercover agents for various sinister organizations such as the Zhents, Red Wizards, and so on).
Or you can stay in the city and play up the revels, social whirl, and sword-duels in taverns and private clubs . . .
Just don't forget the possibilities of a Lady Bracknell. ;}
So saith Ed, referencing Wilde's play The Importance Of Being Ernest at the end, there.
Ed and I both hope these comments are of some help!
love,
THO
This is awesome stuff, Ed. Thank you.
Oh, and I'm thinking there might be a special place reserved for the devilishly delicious antics of a certain Lady Hooded One in my version of Raventree Abbey!  |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2013 : 04:08:38
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Hi again, all.
Why, Sage, dear, whatever CAN you mean? I DO declare! I mean, a girl needs a good spanking every three hours or so, when she's as bad as me.
More seriously: Ed says you're very welcome.
Lord Karsus, Markustay has the right of it: most temples in the Realms, of most faiths, take in orphans and foundlings (babies left on their doorstep, or brought to them because a single-parent mother has died in childbirth but the babe has survived); it's their chief source of new priests, because they can be "reared in the faith" from birth or childhood. So even if they don't run formal orphanages, they will take in orphans as novices, usually into monasteries or temple-farms or abbeys (rather than city temples, just because there's usually more room at countryside holy sites). This comes from Ed's notes, BTW; I'm merely paraphrasing so as to directly answer your question.
And Markustay, it's fine to be from Zhentil Keep when trading normally in various places (though bear in mind merchants from the Keep don't go around wearing uniforms or signs that proclaim where they're from). There's no stigma. Some folk view all folk from the Keep with suspicion, because they don't know if a given individual is a spy for the Zhentarim - - but it's the Zhentarim they hate and fear: armed, armored, and uniformed Zhentilar troops or wizards or priests flying on foulwings or armed caravans in the wild (remember: Zhent caravans won't be moving through populated Cormyr, because the entire early goal of the Zhentarim was to establish their own exclusive short caravan route from the mines of the Moonsea to the Sword Coast that DIDN'T go through Cormyr or the Heartlands "run" of Berdusk, Iriaebor, Scornubel, and so on, but rather cut through conquered Teshendale and Daggerdale, across Anauroch or the Stonelands, and through (conquered) Llorkh or Loudwater . . . so such caravans won't be encountered in a town in Cormyr. The only Cormyreans to see such caravans would be adventurers or Purple Dragons or Highknights on forays up into the "wild" Stonelands.
A trader from Zhentil Keep is just . . . a trader from Zhentil Keep. Unless he peers too closely or asks too many questions or wanders where he'd have no reason to. Then, he might be a spy.
So saith me, drawing on the way Ed has shown us the Realms, in play.
And so to bed . . .
love to all,
THO |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2013 : 13:23:26
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Ah, okay. So most folks accept that not everyone from Zhentil Keep (or the rest of the Moonsea for that matter) is 'a jerk'.
Beyond, of course, the usual fact that most merchants are trying to squeeze every last copper out of their customers (which isn't evil... I think... at least not in the D&D sense.)
Thanks for clarifying that. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2013)
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