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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
 Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 16:01:38
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Well met
This being a continued collection of scrolls of any questions the Scribes and visitors of Candlekeep wish to put to a master who needs no introduction, namely - Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms.
Ed's works include MANY FR sourcebooks and numerous novels, such as Cormyr: A Novel, Spellfire, Silverfall, The Shadows of the Avatar Trilogy and The Elminster Series, to name but a few.
Present your questions herein and check back to see what news may also come forth from the quill of this author.
For previous entries of the many, many writings of lore by Ed, please see the 2013 entries in this collection of scrolls, the 2012 entries here, the 2011 entries here, the 2010 entries here, the 2009 entries here the 2008 entries here, the 2007 entries here, the 2006 entries here, the 2005 entries here, and the 2004 entries here. 'ware, these run into over 80 pages, ye may be reading for some time. For a concise read of Ed's replies, visit the "So Saith Ed" page on the Candlekeep site.
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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 |
Edited by - The Sage on 31 Dec 2014 16:02:18
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 16:12:34
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Happy and grand New Year to both the Ol' Bearded One and the Always Lovely Lady Hooded One. And may I be the first to congratulate the two of you on the fact that we'll soon be approaching TEN YEARS of lore replies from Ed here at Candlekeep. Truly an impressive achievement and one every scribe within these halls... past and present... have been ever thankful for!
...
So let me get the New Year Ball rolling with a quick query for Ed...
Anyways, I'm back to re-reading Code of the Harpers again. And I keep noticing the "Harper friends" phrase popping up.
I don't expect an in-depth listing, Ed, but I'm curious as to whether you've ever had a rough list on-hand of the various "Harper friends" over the years of your campaigns? |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 31 Dec 2013 16:13:36 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
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Veritas
Learned Scribe
209 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 16:22:31
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| THO, you are a peach. Thanks for those tidbits about the Crawling Subsumption in the 2013 scroll. Much love. |
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Marco Volo
Learned Scribe
France
204 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 16:26:01
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Thanks THO and Ed for the great lore about previous years requests. I assume fans of the Realms and Waterdeep are eager for another adventurer's club or two and can wait if they (we) have to.
And Happy new year ! |
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
877 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 16:59:45
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Happy New Year Master, Lady and fellow 'keepers!!!
In my home Realms, the Manshoon Wars are still going on by the mid-1370s with only a handful of clones still zipping around Faerun and trying to avoid each other, among those there is one hiding in the Sword Coast near Baldur's Gate and i plan for this Manshoon to grab a Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity (specifically the one circulating in the area as per the BG computer game), change sex, change name and become the lover of the Manshoon clone still with the Zentharim (don't know why but i think, as convoluted as Manshoon's mind is and keeping in mind the bond between clones, only a female Manshoon would be a perfect match for a male Manshoon and vice-versa and both would be thinking they are their own lovers).
So, with this in mind and knowing i suck at names and thinking this one deserves a great one, here's the question: what name would a female Manshoon wanting to be his own lover (in a way) choose? And what would be the reasons, if any?
Thanks! |
Edited by - Demzer on 31 Dec 2013 17:58:54 |
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 18:25:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Demzer
Happy New Year Master, Lady and fellow 'keepers!!!
So, with this in mind and knowing i suck at names and thinking this one deserves a great one, here's the question: what name would a female Manshoon wanting to be his own lover (in a way) choose? And what would be the reasons, if any?
Thanks!
apart from Manshoona?
Interestingly the players in my ongoing campaign recently discovered a female archmage of great power who used to be a Manshoon clone before he found a Girdle and became a she
Her new name was Mirarune (with an accent over the e) (Meer-ar-rune-ee) and was heavily involved with the Risen Cult of Bane (as outlined in Ed's magnificent Halls of the High King Module). Mirarune previous existance was 'tipped' off to the party by Sarakul the Archmage (half-elf) leader of the Cult of the Dragon who incidentally also happens to be a Manshoon Clone....... Needless to say that fireworks ensured and Mirarune is no more and the players now know that Sarakul is also a clone, so there are even more fireworks in the offing!
Looking forward to hearing from Ed on Manshoon Clones and their new naming structure.
As an aside were any of the clones compelled to seek out the ruins of the Shoon imperium? Am wondering if going 'home' would soothe their troubled minds and souls and potentially break the clone madness of destroy all other clones?
Cheers
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 |
Edited by - crazedventurers on 31 Dec 2013 18:26:23 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 20:39:34
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Well met again, and thank you for all the kind words. And Happy New Year to all of you, too! It's still mid-afternoon on New Year's Eve where Ed and I am (not that we're in precisely the same place; I'm working and Ed is inundated with visiting family, but we're both in snowy southern Ontario, Canada), but Ed promises there are still adventurers' clubs to come (three more, probably), and in the meantime, I'd like to start this new scroll off on the right foot, so to speak, by answering what I can, as soon as I can.
Sage, I think Ed lists Harper friends as he goes along, so any list he has will be informal, to say the least. Of course, your post is now in his e-inbox so he can prove me wrong. 
Thank you, Wooly. Nice to see the Spin A Yarn rolling out the gate well before next GenCon.
Veritas, I don't know about being a peach, but I was once told I had a bottom like a peach.  Less about that but more about Crawling Subsumption soon, I hope.
Demzer, as it happens, I can answer your question myself, because in the 'home' Realms campaign, long before there were multiple Manshoons running around all at once, the then-one-and-only Manshoon used magic to give himself a female body for about a month, to practice a certain deception on some Zhents and some rich men of Athkatla Manshoon hoped would sponsor a little business concern he wanted to start (as part of taking over Zhentil Keep, his first time). He made quite a fetching, darkly beautiful, coldly alluring woman and got courted by any number of interested nobles (and young rakes). During this time, he went by the name of Apheirlarra "the Lady Sinister," and tales are still told of the Lady Sinister around the Moonsea (many of them insisting she was Manshoon's lover rather than Manshoon, and at least one of them claiming she was one of Manshoon's dragon mounts shapechanged so as to serve as his bedmate).
El has been known to tease Manshoon by murmuring something along the lines of "I liked ye better as Apheira" (which irks Manshoon because it implies that some of the men Apheirlarra romanced or bedded were themselves rivals or foes in disguise, using Manshoon when he thought he was using them).
However, I love Damian's story; the Manshoon he portrayed rings true to me, and nice name, too!
BTW, Ed hinted we might learn more about Manshoon in future Realms fiction (so I'm going to stick my neck out and speculate he means the novel after THE HERALD, though Ed himself didn't get any more specific).
Well, that's all from me for now. I have to wend my way down to the wine cellar to select some appropriate vintages for tonight...
love to all!
THO
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 20:49:55
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I'm curious if the (increasingly-distant) past is still fair game for novel writers in the Realms. Since WotC undoubtedly rejects unsolicited novel ideas (at least from unknown authors), do such stories only get written if someone with a WotC nametag wants them written?
For a handful of examples, though not necessarily the most pressing ones: the youth and derring-do of Princess Amnestria and her siblings, Bran Skorlsun, more of the noble families/villas of Waterdeep, the fate of the Warblade, the life and loves of the Srinshee, the prehistory and early days of Seventon, the gritty details of the fall of Ascalhorn and for that matter its rise, ... obviously, any of us could add scores of seeds to the garden.
More specifically, what might we fans be able to do to prompt WotC to look into suggesting a topic to an author who might, perhaps, be chewing their fingers and looking for a project to work on? I'm thinking of basically everyone except those who are already busy with the Sundering storyline and other projects. There must be several others who would love to scramble for time and put new work into the hands of we eager fans.
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 22:10:00
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Happy New Years Ed and THO!
I was reading a scroll from back in '06 and had a bit of a follow-up question to this little wizard lair snippet: "in his lair, with time to prepare, darn near EVERY wizard can call on a wand that’s hidden up on a shelf, or a ring still in a box under his pillow, to blast unwanted visitors."
Does this mean a wizard can stand at the top of his tower and empty a wand of fireballs (that's stored on a shelf) into an orc band or more of a being able to call upon a wand's powers several times a day? Is there a limit to how many items they could call upon? Could a wizard teach his apprentices to use these same abilities if he were not at home? Would you be able to share any sort of materials, research methods and/or spells used when a wizard sets such things up?
This sounds like a really fun and potentially explosive way for player's to do some wizardly research.
Thank you both. |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1600 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 23:18:36
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| Happy New Year to Ed, THO and all sages, have you all a blessed year full of love, peace, success, and adventure! Thank you Ed for sharing the Realms with us, and THo for being his sweet voice. Happy 2014! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 02:37:40
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Thank you, Barastir! From me and from Ed!
Who just e-mailed me to say that a snippet from his essay for THE KOBOLD GUIDE TO MAGIC is now up on the Kobold Press site, and that said teaser DOES have relevance for the Realms, for all fantasy fiction, and for fantasy roleplaying worldbuilding.
Whoa, says I, heavy stuff! 
Having glanced at the snippet, I agree. 
So check it out, if you're inclined...
http://www.koboldpress.com/k/front-page17338.php
love to all,
THO |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 13:55:53
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I would like to say Happy New Year to everyone here at the Keep for making this site such a treasure trove of lore and ideas. Ed and Lady THO, thank you for continuing to assist fledgling scribes, such as myself, to continue making your world come alive in our homes. One can tell it has been a true labor of love these past decades.
Now to my first question of the year: I was just perusing El's Forgotten Realms and was drawn to the section on medicines, drugs, and poisons. So now I'm wondering, has anyone discovered penicillin (or it's equivalent) in the Realms? Which settlements, races, sages or religions have discovered it (or are on the verge of discovering it)? If it has not been discovered, then if you could project a likely time frame for its discovery please? Thanks. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 15:12:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Demzer
Happy New Year Master, Lady and fellow 'keepers!!!
In my home Realms, the Manshoon Wars are still going on by the mid-1370s with only a handful of clones still zipping around Faerun and trying to avoid each other, among those there is one hiding in the Sword Coast near Baldur's Gate and i plan for this Manshoon to grab a Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity (specifically the one circulating in the area as per the BG computer game), change sex, change name and become the lover of the Manshoon clone still with the Zentharim (don't know why but i think, as convoluted as Manshoon's mind is and keeping in mind the bond between clones, only a female Manshoon would be a perfect match for a male Manshoon and vice-versa and both would be thinking they are their own lovers).
So, with this in mind and knowing i suck at names and thinking this one deserves a great one, here's the question: what name would a female Manshoon wanting to be his own lover (in a way) choose? And what would be the reasons, if any?
Thanks!
Just tossing this one out... Back in the day, on the WotC forums, there was an "Faerûnian NPCs Errata" thread (the link I saved no longer works; I'd saved that link before my wrongful banishment, and they've revamped their forums a few times since then). On that thread, a poster named Wizardman described a female Manshoon clone, Mashiara Penitent. IIRC, his clone was the one that had stayed with the Simbul. I don't recall how the gender changed, but this Manshoon had also donned a helm of opposite alignment and become good.
Edit: Scratch that, I actually saved that write-up... Here's the relevant bit:
quote:
The Manshoon clone which went to the Simbul was eventually given a way around the compulsion to become the sole Manshoon. That one was given a girdle of femininity, and transformed into a woman, whom the Simbul named Mashiara. Soon after, Mashiara had an incident with a helm of reverse alignment, and while the effects were eventually (and grudgingly) lifted, Mashiara spent her ‘good’ time reviewing all the actions of her life, so much so that even with the effects lifted, the results remained. She took the surname Penitent to demonstrate her new outlook on life. Mashiara’s true history remains a secret to all but the Simbul’s most trusted allies: her sisters and the other Chosen.
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 01 Jan 2014 15:16:36 |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 15:52:46
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| That's an interesting bit of lore Wooley. I wonder if this was Ed's creation or someone else's? |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 17:27:53
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quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach
That's an interesting bit of lore Wooley. I wonder if this was Ed's creation or someone else's?
As I said, that was the creation of someone active on the WotC forums when I was active there, many years ago. He did like I did with Sapphire, my psionicist Alias clone in Waterdeep -- took one "throwaway" line of text and ran with it. |
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! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 01 Jan 2014 17:29:08 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 17:30:06
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Just to echo Wooly: definitely not Ed's creation. Neither Mashiara nor Penitent sound like names Ed would coin.
love,
THO |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 18:15:59
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Happy New Year, Ed, THO, and all.
Before 4e came out (but after it was announced), I had envisioned a daughter of Manshoon who was just like him (and had even killed - or tried to kill - her father, IIRC). I detailed her over on the WotC forums, but I can't recall what I named her. I did picture her wearing a mask just like daddy, however (but a different mask... one perhaps of 'Rashemi origins').
Also, I would like to second xaeyruudh's request - I had asked a similar question not too long ago (Will authors be allowed to write 'in the past' of the Realms, or will all new novels have to be 1479 DR+ moving forward?)
And lastly, I need a question. I thought of a doozy the other day, but forgot it by the time I got home. Getting old sucks, LOL. How about this: How much of 'Realms history' is actually being manipulated by behind-the-scenes 'movers and shakers'? I don't think gods should count (because thats their whole purpose, I would imagine), but I am talking about powerful individuals, cults, perhaps clandestine groups, etc? And of course, the Realms being what they are, how many of those groups and/or people are actually being manipulated by other, higher-tiered groups and people? Is Elminster the ultimate manipulator? He seems to have started more groups (directly or indirectly) then anyone else. Or is he just one more wrung in the ladder? Does anyone (ever) manipulate El without him being aware of it? |
"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 02 Jan 2014 18:42:10 |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 22:35:22
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Hi again, all. Heeeere's Ed:
Hello, everyone. More adventurers' clubs of Waterdeep will be on the way here soon.
However, I wanted to take a break from planning world dominXXX er, making future publishing plans to address Markustay's most recent post.
As follows. ;}
I, too, have plans for daughters of Manshoon, one of them very similar to what you've just described, but the dreaded NDAs cover them like a blanket for right now.
To address the question you and xaeyruudh have asked, I honestly don't know. In that, it has certainly been said that all eras are open for writing about, but the pattern recently has been to write novels in the "here and now" of the Realms, and I don't see many open novel slots at the moment. However, I am not on staff, don't know the plans at Wizards and how they may change over time, and I have had it said directly to me that there's nothing at all wrong about writing scenes set in the past that are necessary and germane to any story. But whether in practice that means "flashbacks are fine" or "by all means go back to the Dawn Cataclysm and tell that story you want to do back then," I just don't know. Which doesn't furnish you with a wildly useful answer, I grant. I DO know that there are some exciting stories in the works, but of course, those I'm not at liberty to speak of (and wouldn't want to; premature spilling can spoil the fun).
As for your Realms question ("How much of 'Realms history' is actually being manipulated by behind-the-scenes 'movers and shakers'?") here we go . . .
Not counting the gods, for the reasons you give and I agree with, a LOT of manipulating goes on behind the scenes (including by clergy of the gods), and, yes, a great many of the manipulators are in turn being manipulated by "other, higher-tiered groups and people." (I think you'll see a little more about this in future published Realmslore. Elminster is a tireless and long-surviving manipulator, yes, but not necessarily "ultimate." He can indeed be manipulated by others, and has been, but seldom without his "smelling" it (by which I mean, even when he doesn't know who is "running" him or why, he gets the feeling he's being manipulated, and this sense is nigh-infallible.
(When Mystra is "on deck" in the Realms, fully active and empowered, and the Weave is relatively okay, it's VERY hard for a deity to directly manipulate any Chosen of Mystra without them sensing it.) The skill in manipulating at the higher levels is like playing chess at high levels; the ability to see consequences and likely outcomes farther ahead and more deeply than opponents, and so do the right thing and act to thwart the right things, in the right ways and to the right degree.
So saith Ed. Who loves this sort of Realms discussion, I happen to know personally . . .
love and hugs,
Ed |
Edited by - The Hooded One on 01 Jan 2014 22:36:03 |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 03:14:17
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Thankye, Ed... while "I don't know" may not shine floodlights on the subject, it's good to know that we're not alone in the dark.
I suspect that WotC wants to make sure that D&D Next is successful, and that the Sundering storyline is well-received, before opening any additional doors. Which, frustratingly, means it will likely be a couple of years before there's any dedicated delving into the stories of the past, but I hope that's the motive for the forward-march and it seems reasonable enough to think that it is.
At least we can ask questions about the past, here!
Speaking of the past (voice of Agnes from Despicable Me: "my segues are so clever!") is the dragon who fell to Sylune under an NDA? I don't recall seeing this jerk named anywhere. Peeved adventurers want to hunt down possible descendants. |
Edited by - xaeyruudh on 02 Jan 2014 03:14:34 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 03:16:11
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Sage, I think Ed lists Harper friends as he goes along, so any list he has will be informal, to say the least. Of course, your post is now in his e-inbox so he can prove me wrong.
I thought it would be as such... continuously evolving in Ed's own personal way.
Curiously, I'd also like to know whether he adds to his list of "Harper friends" as the campaign dictates, or does he decide beforehand whether a particular NPC might be recognised as a "Harper friend?" |
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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 03:16:52
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Neither Mashiara nor Penitent sound like names Ed would coin.
love,
THO
Penitent I can see. But why not something like Mashiara? |
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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 03:41:45
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Sage, here's Ed on that naming thing:
Simple. "Mash" is not a name-element I'd ever use in the Realms, because it's a sound that to my way way of thinking drags a listener/reader to the "here and now" modern real world (as would "mister" or "inter" or "cash").
"Murash" I'd go for (and have), but "mash" brings to mind "mashup" and "mashed potatoes" or brewing, and is too apt to jolt me personally out of "feeling like I'm in the Realms."
MANSHIARA I would go for (as an offshoot of Manshoon). But not Mashiara.
So saith Ed. (Remember, he "sounds out" his names by saying them aloud, always, to avoid unintentional howlers, just out of long habit.)
love,
THO |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 04:30:20
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And hello again, fellow scribes of Candlekeep.
The gift Ed gives us, spurred by the 2013 query of Marco Volo, just keeps giving...yes, here's the third of what will probably be five adventurers' clubs of Waterdeep, for our common Realmslore-devouring pleasure:
Stag Swords House: This now-well-regarded adventurers’ club began as the place for the outcasts and misfits who couldn’t afford the fees for Rahoringjak’s or the other (now-defunct) Waterdhavian adventurers’ clubs of the time, or who were expelled from those clubs for their behavior, or who were “shunned” (blackballed, or not allowed to join) because they were disliked by key established members of those clubs. Yet over the years, the hard-working staff of the Stag Swords have made this club beloved by its members. The staff see themselves as the personal servants of members, so everything from delivering messages and items in-town to washing the feet and dressing the bunions of an exhausted member who trudges in gets done without hesitastion, without charge, and without criticism of the member. The Stag Sworders regularly fetch drunken members from other establishments across the city, and even see to it that non-member strangers and adventurers who belong to other clubs get delivered to the right place when brought to their doors. If something is broken and needs repairs or replacements, clothes or boots need washing (even really tough washing jobs, like getting rid of skunk- or trogolodyte-stink, or city sewage), it gets seen too, right away (often while a member sleeps). Wounded and filthy members have been privately undressed, washed, and put to bed by staffers, sick members have been tended, and so on. Stag Sworders think nothing of kneeling to lace up or unlace the boots of a member who is merely fat or weary; as one guest once put it, “They’re BETTER than the best servants nobles can hire in this city!”
All of this makes up for the nondescript looks and spartan furnishings of the club (it’s located amid warehouses and stables on westfront Carter’s Way in South Ward, south of the Way’s moot with Coachlamp Lane (BTW: some civic officials and maps mention a “Southern Ward,” but no inhabitant of that area EVER calls it anything but “South Ward”), has walls painted in mismatched hues and is furnished with similarly mismatching used furniture from hundreds of sources.
The staffers today are led by the three founders (the large, strong, and jovial Ildevvur Murmrask; the small, petite, and tart-tongued Sharlassa Tilturr, whose eyes and memory miss NOTHING; and the one-eyed, taciturn Garleth Khalastym, who is a master horse-doctor and a rough-and-ready sewer-up of wounded humans, too), and number twenty-nine, young cooks and maids included (that is, children of the older staffers).
The name of this club comes from the stag-headed party masks, picked up for free from a long-ago hunting-themed noble revel, worn by the staff in early years to confer some degree of anonymity in their dealings with the authorities and with rival clubs. These masks cover the nose, upper half of the face, and the rest of the head like a war-helm, and sport two small, upswept antlers. They still exist, are displayed behind the bar, and get worn from time to time—these days, usually by club members wanting to do something shady, risky, or outright illicit.
The Stag Swords membership is now slightly more than four-and-a-half-hundred (and is growing). It is only that low because this club has always been the city home of a lot of very active adventurers, so its roster of members has suffered heavy losses over the years thanks to the perils of adventuring.
The House remains a cheap and cheerful place, with its own adjacent stables and warehouse (where members can store things that aren’t flammable or alive, without question or comment). Thanks to its location, it does hire discreet armed guards (often wounded, recuperating member-adventurers) to watch over the stables, warehouse, and its own entrances and passages.
So saith Ed. Tireless creator of the Realms and most of its voluminous Realmslore. Who is busy with all sorts of projects, these days, not least among them turning out weekly Forging the Realms columns for the Wizards website. (For those who haven't yet encountered them, our diligent moderators post links to them here at the Keep, and they are free.)
love to all,
THO
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 04:48:06
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
So saith Ed. Tireless creator of the Realms and most of its voluminous Realmslore. Who is busy with all sorts of projects, these days, not least among them turning out weekly Forging the Realms columns for the Wizards website. (For those who haven't yet encountered them, our diligent moderators post links to them here at the Keep, and they are free.)
love to all,
THO
And one of those moderators has the oddest habit of reposting the links when the better-looking moderator beats him to the punch. 'Tis a strange thing, indeed.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 05:06:09
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You don't say, Wooly. My, my . . .
Ahem. Well, Ed has come through again, sending me another adventurers' club. So here you are...
The Lightning Targe: This newest and smallest adventurers’ club consists of two adjacent houses (joined only by a covered bridge built between two facing third-storey windows) on eastfront Blackmul Street in Castle Ward. A former haunt of smugglers, the interior of both houses is a warren of dimly-lit steps, tiny rooms built over other rooms, closets that have sliding panels for their back walls that let into short secret passages, and so on. There are dumbwaiters of all sizes, including large enough for five friendly or non-shy people to cram together in the “traveling box,” and the houses bristle with gables, balconies, swing-down fire escape ladders, ladders affixed to the upper exterior walls that allow for easy travel between windows and roofs and upper balconies to lower-down windows and balconies, and multiple chimneys that have projecting iron spars to serve as hand- and foot-holds. The club also has a “pet gargoyle” who’s actually a mimic who captures intruders but doesn’t harm them, blowing a foghorn that it long ago took into its guts to warn staffers once it’s attached itself to an intruder and held them in place. (Most of the time this mimic, who’s referred to as “Lararve” [Lar-AR-vuhh] by members, looks like an immobile stone griffon-like sculpture, attached to the front top of one of the gables.) If lots of intruders swarm, Lararve blows its horn without first trying a capture; it defines “intruders” as anyone trying to climb into the houses rather than using a door, but not if they exit from a window or balcony of the houses first, only if they come from the ground or atop a passing coach or wagon.
The Targe has about eighty members, and many of them are half-breeds or out-and-out monsters; half-orcs and drow are prominent among the membership, and orcs, hobgoblins, kenku, bugbears, and loxo are frequently seen inside the club. As a result, the club has two firm rules: all members get treated equally, and don’t “rat out” fellow members to the authorities (if the Watch asks, “Did you see an orc come in here?” the usual response is something akin to a laconic, “Don’t think so; what color was it?”). Non-members aren’t permitted beyond the front entry rooms of either club house except when they’re guests assisting, and vouched for by, a member (i.e. persons helping a wounded member reach the club, and then reach a particular room inside the club).
The Targe has over twenty “swift disguises” handy in a walk-in longcloset beside the bar that faces the entry door in one of the club houses, for the use of members; these consist of clothes, head-swathing bandages, false casts that can be slid on to cover limbs, crutches, and various full-head masks, including some that, with the attached wigs, look like very realistic human faces.
The Targe is run by seven large, strong, striking rather than beautiful Northern women, of Uthgardt barbarian heritage but fiercely determined to never return to their home regions or culture; they are led by the two oldest and largest, who go by the names Kelelty (“Kel-EL-tea”) and Morragh (“MORE-rag”), though these are both assumed names. They dole out rooms to members as needed; there’s no limits to stays, but most members stay for short periods, are active in the city mainly by night, and are as secretive as possible.
Waterdhavian rumor, among those few citizens who’ve heard of this club at all, hints that mixed-species “monster” orgies are frequent and rampant at the Targe. This is far from true, though mixed races of different genders often crowd into the same room to conduct private negotiations or to sleep, or both.
The name “Lightning Targe” came from a shield Kelelty once sheltered behind, that got split by a wizard’s lightning bolt in an alley brawl hard by where the club is now located, but that kept her alive and deflected the bolts into allies of the wizard, who then fled. She took this lucky deliverance as a sign of the favor of the gods, and chose this location for the club (though it took some years to “persuade” the smugglers to part with the buildings; as Elminster put it, “it was the rather bloody sort of persuasion”).
The Targe is said to be haunted by a poltergeist, and it certainly has a staff member able to invisibly move things around, though this may be telekinesis and personal invisibility; Elminster hasn’t yet investigated. This haunting seems to awaken to counter hostile intruders or drunken or belligerent members causing trouble in the club, and otherwise to remain unseen. The Targe is known to have a decidedly mildewy tunnel connection to city sewers, affording a “back way out” (and, of course, in, too).
So saith Ed. Useful, solid, even juicy stuff. Which is a phrase I used to use to describe certain anatomical details of certain partners, but I digress . . . 
love to all,
THO |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 05:54:09
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I so enjoy it when Christmas lasts for a week!
I'm trying to nail down Ilygelther's crazy house(s) and I thought I'd ask for some more precise directions.
"no less than six buildings on either side of the north end of Brondar’s Way" you say.
I see (on the 1109 map) five buildings on the east side of Brondar's Way, north of the Nandar villa -- "westfront" is the word, right? Then there are four on the other side, between the Ulbrinter and Maerklos villas. And of course there are several on the north side of Delzorin Street, which could serve as well. Which of these should I note as being filled with hipsters? (all grins, no offense to anyone!)
And while I have you, my wordsmith of ineffable awesomeness, what are the names of the alleys in these two blocks?
- goes northward from the Nandar villa to Delzorin Street
- goes east-west between Vhezoar Street and Brondar's Way and southward to the Maerklos villa
- makes a "driveway" for the Maerklos and Nandar villas, beginning at Sulmor Street, running north and quickly east to end at Whaelgond Way
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Edited by - xaeyruudh on 02 Jan 2014 05:56:49 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 15:45:36
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
You don't say, Wooly. My, my . . .
I think our lovely Lady Hooded One knows exactly WHICH Moderator is the most handsome.
*wink* |
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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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 15:50:25
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quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
MANSHIARA I would go for (as an offshoot of Manshoon). But not Mashiara.
Thank you, my lady.
Now I'm thinking of Manshoon going through a similar "Elmara/Elminster" gender switch whereupon the Lord of the Zhentarim suddenly finds himself forced by Mystra into the female guise of Manshiara. |
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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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore
5056 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 18:11:13
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Heh. THAT sounds like fun.
And Ed has just sent me what he says is the last adventurers' club of Waterdeep, for Marco Volo and indeed the rest of us. Hearken, then...
The High House of Heroes: This grandiosely named adventurers’ club usually gets politely nicknamed “Heroes High” in everyday converse, and is less politely referred to as “Low Heroes” or just “the Low.”
This club is located in a rundown but formerly grand mansion in North Ward, on eastfront Nindabar Street four doors north of Suldown Street (formerly known as “Suldoun,” and older citizens and one or two older signs preserve the older name; BTW, street signs in Waterdeep are posted on the sides of corner buildings [[or their walls, if they stand inside walled compounds, as many nobles’ villas do]] above the level of street-level awnings or window and door rain-dormer roofs). It has a staff of just over thirty, and a membership of almost six hundred, and is the closest thing to a “soulless hotel” among Waterdhavian adventurers’ clubs, with a professionally polite and distant staff, bare-bones amenities, and an accent on privacy (as in, “I don’t want to know why you’re dragging that dead body up to your room, or carrying that severed head; none of my business, and if I don’t know I can’t tell, so eyes right and remember nothing and the shift will unfold just fine and I’ll get my pay”).
With that said, every room has an ensuite bathing tub and jakes, a small cooking-hearth with chimney (the shared flues of these chimneys soar up through the club to emerge from the roof and soar above it like a cluster of slender stone towers, giving the mansion the appearance of a gigantic stone high-spired crown), a sturdy table, good beds and linens, and three stout bolts that can be slid across the inside of the door (all door hinges can be removed from the outside, so the bolts are a delaying tactic, not true security).
The club is run by a council (we real-world moderns might use the term “board of directors,” because that’s exactly how it functions, with voting, rules of order at meetings, and so on) that’s largely composed of retired- or semi-retired adventurers who’ve invested in the club. The High House is run by the charismatic, diplomatic Waterdhavian wine merchant and landlord, a middle-aged and somewhat portly man who possesses rugged good looks, white daggerboard sideburns, and a dizzyingly long list of lovers (from tough Dock Ward tavernmaids to bored noble ladies of Sea Ward, and everything in between). He smoothes over the worst disputes and “troubles” among the High House clients, often by fetching forth good wine and cheese from his private cellars (and sometimes by persuading one of his lady friends to “comfort” someone), and generally keeps things moving along in his charmingly sleazy way.
As a longtime member told Elminster: “No one exactly loves the Low, but many adventurers find it useful.”
So saith Ed, and there you have it!
love to all,
THO
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 18:17:43
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Hello THO,
Did the name of the wine merchant/landlord that runs the High House get left out? |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
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Questions for Ed Greenwood (2014)
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